ENG 182/5 bt AUS 177/8 by 5 runs
England claimed an impressive five-run victory in their only T20 international fixture with Australia this summer despite a standout knock of 90 from Steve Smith in Cardiff this evening.
Responding to England's impressive effort of 182, Australia began in a rather meek fashion as David Willey got rid of David Warner in the first over to leave the visitors 4-1.
Steven Finn sought to build from his Ashes campaign and he looked on course to do so after he reduced Australia to 12-2 having bowled Shane Watson all ends up.
The Aussies battled back aggressively, however, as Glenn Maxwell put on 48 in a strong partnership with Smith, before sending a catch to a diving Ben Stokes off Moeen Ali at mid-on.
Smith continued his innings unchallenged and he again worked well with Mitchell Marsh, who added a quick-fire 13 only to fall to debutant Reece Topley's slower ball.
With England sensing that they could drag the game back in their favour, Australia's Smith went on the attack in the penultimate over, but he then found himself out for 90 after sending Willey's delivery into the hands of Sam Billings deep on the leg side.
Requiring 12 to win from the final over, the Australians were unable to deliver as some standout death bowling from Ben Stokes ensured that the Lions claimed victory.
Earlier in the day, captain Eoin Morgan installed himself as England's new leading T20 run-scorer as he scored 74 runs off 39 deliveries before he was caught by Shane Watson after a standout partnership with Ali.
Monday 31 August 2015
Women's Ashes Final T20
Australia 111 (20 overs): Blackwell 24, Harris 24; Shrubsole 4-11, Sciver 4-15
England 114-5 (19.1 overs): Sciver 47, Farrell 2-10
England won by five wickets; Australia win series 10-6
Natalie Sciver starred with bat and ball as England won the final Twenty20 international of the Women's Ashes against Australia by five wickets.
Having taken a career-best 4-15 with the ball, the all-rounder hit her highest score in T20s for England.
Chasing just 112 to win, England were reduced to 22-3 before Sciver (47) stepped up.
The Southern Stars wrapped up the multi-format series with victory at Hove on Friday.
Anya Shrubsole claimed the first four Australia wickets to fall to reduce the visitors to 25-4, before Sciver's career-best 4-15 saw the visitors bowled out for just 111.
England's batting has come under scrutiny after consistently poor performances this summer and Danielle Wyatt - promoted to the top of the batting order with Lauren Winfield having been dropped - went for a golden duck as she chopped on to Ellyse Perry.
Captain Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor also failed but Sciver struck 47, including two fours and a huge six, to ensure England ended the series on a high with a consolation win.
Player of the match Natalie Sciver: "It is a shame that we didn't come off with the bat in Hove and that will haunt us for a while. It's hard to explain the poor batting, maybe there was a lack of concentration. We knew the task in hand and we knew that we were capable of performing and we showed that today, so it is just a shame that we couldn't do it at Hove."
England captain Charlotte Edwards: "We spoke about getting something from this last match and to beat the best team in the world is something we should be proud of but missing out on that run chase at Hove makes it doubly disappointing as a group. Ultimately Australia have been the better team but when we have played at our best we have matched them."
Australia skipper Meg Lanning: "The bowlers have certainly been the better performers this series for both sides. Early wickets have been a key and it meant that we had to take the time to rebuild our innings and especially in T20 cricket if you have to start to rebuild you're in a little bit of trouble. Even though we won the Ashes and that is what we came here to do there is certainly still a lot for us to do, especially with a World T20 coming up."
Ex-England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent on BBC Test Match Special: "The biggest issue for England in this short format is the opening partner for Charlotte Edwards. The bowling is brilliant but they need to work on building batting partnerships. This is why Nat Sciver scoring runs is such a positive."
England 114-5 (19.1 overs): Sciver 47, Farrell 2-10
England won by five wickets; Australia win series 10-6
Natalie Sciver starred with bat and ball as England won the final Twenty20 international of the Women's Ashes against Australia by five wickets.
Having taken a career-best 4-15 with the ball, the all-rounder hit her highest score in T20s for England.
Chasing just 112 to win, England were reduced to 22-3 before Sciver (47) stepped up.
The Southern Stars wrapped up the multi-format series with victory at Hove on Friday.
Anya Shrubsole claimed the first four Australia wickets to fall to reduce the visitors to 25-4, before Sciver's career-best 4-15 saw the visitors bowled out for just 111.
England's batting has come under scrutiny after consistently poor performances this summer and Danielle Wyatt - promoted to the top of the batting order with Lauren Winfield having been dropped - went for a golden duck as she chopped on to Ellyse Perry.
Captain Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor also failed but Sciver struck 47, including two fours and a huge six, to ensure England ended the series on a high with a consolation win.
Player of the match Natalie Sciver: "It is a shame that we didn't come off with the bat in Hove and that will haunt us for a while. It's hard to explain the poor batting, maybe there was a lack of concentration. We knew the task in hand and we knew that we were capable of performing and we showed that today, so it is just a shame that we couldn't do it at Hove."
England captain Charlotte Edwards: "We spoke about getting something from this last match and to beat the best team in the world is something we should be proud of but missing out on that run chase at Hove makes it doubly disappointing as a group. Ultimately Australia have been the better team but when we have played at our best we have matched them."
Australia skipper Meg Lanning: "The bowlers have certainly been the better performers this series for both sides. Early wickets have been a key and it meant that we had to take the time to rebuild our innings and especially in T20 cricket if you have to start to rebuild you're in a little bit of trouble. Even though we won the Ashes and that is what we came here to do there is certainly still a lot for us to do, especially with a World T20 coming up."
Ex-England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent on BBC Test Match Special: "The biggest issue for England in this short format is the opening partner for Charlotte Edwards. The bowling is brilliant but they need to work on building batting partnerships. This is why Nat Sciver scoring runs is such a positive."
3rd Test Day 4 IND V SL
Sri Lanka 201 and 67 for 3 need another 319 to beat India 312 and 274
India were seven wickets from their first series win in Sri Lanka since 1993 after Rohit Sharma, followed by lower-order contributions, all but batted Sri Lanka out of the game. The other Sharma, Ishant, having faced a barrage of bouncers from Dhammika Prasad and aggression from Dinesh Chandimal when he batted, came out pumped up and knocked out any thoughts of the target of 386 being chased down with two wickets in his first spell, including that of Chandimal, who had made slight physical contact with Ishant in India's innings.
It is conjecture if the altercations contributed to Ishant's hitting the good lengths, but it wasn't probably wise to expose him to the Sri Lankan bowling. Even at P Sara, India perhaps delayed the declaration and ran the risk of injuries to new-ball bowlers. Sri Lanka were obviously going to bounce them to serve the dual purpose of slowing the scoring down and delaying the declaration, and possibly eliminate the bowler. Prasad, the bowler here, was himself not done any favours: he was hit on the left glove the first ball he batted and had to retire hurt.
With a lead of 380 in the bag, against this Sri Lankan batting, and with rain always a factor, India would have been expected to declare early in the final session of the day. Still Ishant came out at No. 11, and was bounced and stared at. Except that one of those bouncers was a big no-ball. Ishant didn't like it, and when taking a single pointed to his helmet, as if to tell Prasad to aim at his head if he means to hurt him. Chandimal made himself a party to the altercation, and seemed to brush Ishant while doing so.
R Ashwin, who had batted as stylishly as Rohit but under considerably less pressure, tried to shield Ishant and opened the face to the last ball of the said over, but only managed an edge to end the innings. Ishant ran off to prepare to bowl in 10 minutes' time, but Prasad left his team behind and chased him and caught up with him at the end of the players' tunnel at SSC. The duo had to be separated.
All these bursts of energy from Sri Lanka were sudden on a day they were, more than anything, found wanting physically. It will please Virat Kohli, who has often seen - even when not captain - his bowlers come out second-best physically after competing for long periods of time. India had their lucky breaks - the rain on third evening when in the middle of a collapse the last of those - but they showed less wear of three back-to-back Tests than their hosts did.
On an oppressively hot day in Colombo - players were often seen fielding with ice-filled kerchiefs around the back of their necks - despite a seaming pitch on offer, Angelo Mathews bowled only six overs out of the 76 India faced, 19 out of 176.1 in the match, which meant little back-up for the two frontline quicks. Spinners bowling 34 overs on this pitch turned out to be easy pickings for India.
On the third evening, Sri Lanka rode the momentum to reduce India to 7 for 3, and were looking at just one big push in the final hour before putting their feet up. On the fourth morning, they were looking at a long hot day, and couldn't risk over-bowling anyone. India also had that 111-run first-innings lead, which meant almost every boundary resulted in a retreat from Sri Lanka.
Having said all that India would still have been pleasantly surprised to see Rangana Herath bowl the sixth over of the day, only the 14th of the innings. He also carried with him the baggage of the six Rohit had hit him for on the third evening. He began with long-on and long-off back, and just like that India could pick risk-free singles, four of them coming in his first over. Herath's first spell of 4-0-16-0 let India get into accumulation mode, but Kohli welcomed Nuwan Pradeep back with a trademark push wide outside off - high risk for a shot that doesn't produce runs if executed perfectly - saving the TV production truck the bother of cutting fresh replays of the dismissal. They could just go to the last innings' replays.
Rohit, though, kept driving beautifully and pulling emphatically whenever he got the opportunity. His two driven boundaries in the 25th over, shots played away from the body, were not free of risk, but at least he was going for runs. And he executed them perfectly. Binny at the other end enjoyed a charmed life in a quick 54-run partnership with Rohit. Sixteen of his first 29 runs came off edges, he was hit on the head once, and a stumping opportunity was missed by wicketkeeper Kusal Perera when on 25. Still, when he edged away for his second boundary, such was the scoreboard pressure on Sri Lanka they responded by taking a catching man out to deep point, where Binny took an easy single next ball.
Just when India were moving fast into an impregnable position, Rohit - as he has often done in his Test career - fell close to an interval. This, though, wasn't an out-and-out bad shot. He had scored runs earlier off the pull, but this time a little extra bounce from Prasad took the top edge for long leg to take it and keep Sri Lanka in the game. When they came back after lunch, Sri Lanka didn't seem to have enough left in them to keep staying in the game.
India got gentle spin off which they could pick easy ones and twos at one end, and tiring quicks at the other. Binny and Ojha added 42 largely trouble-free runs before Ashwin and Amit Mishra put together 55. Sri Lanka seemed resigned to batting only when India wanted them to, and Ashwin took the opportunity to play some graceful shots in his first successful innings with the bat. What followed between Prasad and Ishant, and Chandimal and Ishant wasn't as graceful, but might have been enough to warm Ishant up.
Yet again Ishant produced Upul Tharanga's edge in the first over, taken this time of course, to keep to 71 the total runs scored by the first wicket on either side in 12 opportunities. Ishant and Kohli were now in the face of the dismissed batsman, but Yadav was less angry when he got an edge out of Dimuth Karunaratne soon.
Ishant's anger boiled over when he got the counterattacking Chandimal to open the face to play a short ball to third slip, where KL Rahul dropped yet another catch only for Kohli to take the rebound. Ishant repeatedly banged his head without getting close to Chandimal. This was a better way to send the message across. More importantly he was in line for a 10-wicket haul and - if India finish the job here - a big role in two if India's last three Test wins.
India were seven wickets from their first series win in Sri Lanka since 1993 after Rohit Sharma, followed by lower-order contributions, all but batted Sri Lanka out of the game. The other Sharma, Ishant, having faced a barrage of bouncers from Dhammika Prasad and aggression from Dinesh Chandimal when he batted, came out pumped up and knocked out any thoughts of the target of 386 being chased down with two wickets in his first spell, including that of Chandimal, who had made slight physical contact with Ishant in India's innings.
It is conjecture if the altercations contributed to Ishant's hitting the good lengths, but it wasn't probably wise to expose him to the Sri Lankan bowling. Even at P Sara, India perhaps delayed the declaration and ran the risk of injuries to new-ball bowlers. Sri Lanka were obviously going to bounce them to serve the dual purpose of slowing the scoring down and delaying the declaration, and possibly eliminate the bowler. Prasad, the bowler here, was himself not done any favours: he was hit on the left glove the first ball he batted and had to retire hurt.
With a lead of 380 in the bag, against this Sri Lankan batting, and with rain always a factor, India would have been expected to declare early in the final session of the day. Still Ishant came out at No. 11, and was bounced and stared at. Except that one of those bouncers was a big no-ball. Ishant didn't like it, and when taking a single pointed to his helmet, as if to tell Prasad to aim at his head if he means to hurt him. Chandimal made himself a party to the altercation, and seemed to brush Ishant while doing so.
R Ashwin, who had batted as stylishly as Rohit but under considerably less pressure, tried to shield Ishant and opened the face to the last ball of the said over, but only managed an edge to end the innings. Ishant ran off to prepare to bowl in 10 minutes' time, but Prasad left his team behind and chased him and caught up with him at the end of the players' tunnel at SSC. The duo had to be separated.
All these bursts of energy from Sri Lanka were sudden on a day they were, more than anything, found wanting physically. It will please Virat Kohli, who has often seen - even when not captain - his bowlers come out second-best physically after competing for long periods of time. India had their lucky breaks - the rain on third evening when in the middle of a collapse the last of those - but they showed less wear of three back-to-back Tests than their hosts did.
On an oppressively hot day in Colombo - players were often seen fielding with ice-filled kerchiefs around the back of their necks - despite a seaming pitch on offer, Angelo Mathews bowled only six overs out of the 76 India faced, 19 out of 176.1 in the match, which meant little back-up for the two frontline quicks. Spinners bowling 34 overs on this pitch turned out to be easy pickings for India.
On the third evening, Sri Lanka rode the momentum to reduce India to 7 for 3, and were looking at just one big push in the final hour before putting their feet up. On the fourth morning, they were looking at a long hot day, and couldn't risk over-bowling anyone. India also had that 111-run first-innings lead, which meant almost every boundary resulted in a retreat from Sri Lanka.
Having said all that India would still have been pleasantly surprised to see Rangana Herath bowl the sixth over of the day, only the 14th of the innings. He also carried with him the baggage of the six Rohit had hit him for on the third evening. He began with long-on and long-off back, and just like that India could pick risk-free singles, four of them coming in his first over. Herath's first spell of 4-0-16-0 let India get into accumulation mode, but Kohli welcomed Nuwan Pradeep back with a trademark push wide outside off - high risk for a shot that doesn't produce runs if executed perfectly - saving the TV production truck the bother of cutting fresh replays of the dismissal. They could just go to the last innings' replays.
Rohit, though, kept driving beautifully and pulling emphatically whenever he got the opportunity. His two driven boundaries in the 25th over, shots played away from the body, were not free of risk, but at least he was going for runs. And he executed them perfectly. Binny at the other end enjoyed a charmed life in a quick 54-run partnership with Rohit. Sixteen of his first 29 runs came off edges, he was hit on the head once, and a stumping opportunity was missed by wicketkeeper Kusal Perera when on 25. Still, when he edged away for his second boundary, such was the scoreboard pressure on Sri Lanka they responded by taking a catching man out to deep point, where Binny took an easy single next ball.
Just when India were moving fast into an impregnable position, Rohit - as he has often done in his Test career - fell close to an interval. This, though, wasn't an out-and-out bad shot. He had scored runs earlier off the pull, but this time a little extra bounce from Prasad took the top edge for long leg to take it and keep Sri Lanka in the game. When they came back after lunch, Sri Lanka didn't seem to have enough left in them to keep staying in the game.
India got gentle spin off which they could pick easy ones and twos at one end, and tiring quicks at the other. Binny and Ojha added 42 largely trouble-free runs before Ashwin and Amit Mishra put together 55. Sri Lanka seemed resigned to batting only when India wanted them to, and Ashwin took the opportunity to play some graceful shots in his first successful innings with the bat. What followed between Prasad and Ishant, and Chandimal and Ishant wasn't as graceful, but might have been enough to warm Ishant up.
Yet again Ishant produced Upul Tharanga's edge in the first over, taken this time of course, to keep to 71 the total runs scored by the first wicket on either side in 12 opportunities. Ishant and Kohli were now in the face of the dismissed batsman, but Yadav was less angry when he got an edge out of Dimuth Karunaratne soon.
Ishant's anger boiled over when he got the counterattacking Chandimal to open the face to play a short ball to third slip, where KL Rahul dropped yet another catch only for Kohli to take the rebound. Ishant repeatedly banged his head without getting close to Chandimal. This was a better way to send the message across. More importantly he was in line for a 10-wicket haul and - if India finish the job here - a big role in two if India's last three Test wins.
Sunday 30 August 2015
3rd Test Day 3 SL V IND
India 312 and 21 for 3 lead Sri Lanka 201 by 132 runs
India made up for all the time lost to rain on the first two days by reducing Sri Lanka to 47 for 6 and injuring Dhammika Prasad, Sri Lanka's strike bowler on this pitch, but the hosts negated India's advantage by adding 154 with their last four wickets and taking India's first three wickets for seven runs. With India effectively 132 for 3 and the last pair of specialist batsmen already at the wicket, this was anybody's game now.
Fifteen wickets fell for 242 runs in 65.1 overs on a frenetic day where fortunes swung wildly. Yet again Prasad produced a wicket in the first over of the innings, and Cheteshwar Pujara, who carried his bat through in the first dig, became the only man to follow such a feat with a duck in the same Test. At lunch Sri Lanka would have drawn heart from the drizzle that didn't cost the Test any time, but the heavy downpour at 4.40pm would have brought India relief, who yet again ran the risk of collapsing meekly after having watched runs from the Sri Lankan lower order.
It might not result in a win, but if anything, this turnaround from Sri Lanka was even more remarkable than in Galle. Back then they had umpiring decisions and all the luck going their way; here they copped three rough decisions when batting. Upul Tharanga was given out off a no-ball even though the TV umpire had a look at the replays, Dinesh Chandimal - counterattacking his way to 23 off 27 - was given out lbw to a ball that hit him bail high and was on its way up, and Tharindu Kaushal was given out lbw off an inside edge.
Debutant Kusal Perera, who ironically benefited from sloppy slip fielding from India, and Rangana Herath batted smartly in adding 79, the third-highest seventh-wicket partnership in Tests from under a score of 50. Against calculated risks from the lower order, tiring bowlers missed their rhythm. Coming back to bat with an injured hand, Prasad played around with the mind of Ishant Sharma, who had earlier starred with a rare five-for, and scored 27 off 23 to take Sri Lanka past 200.
Not being able to bowl tails out and slips catching have been India's twin tormentors in Test cricket of late, and they could do worse than to look at how they bowled in the first session of the day. The pitch didn't allow crazy seam movement or variable bounce. India just put the ball in areas when uncertain batsmen edge it. Sri Lanka's top order was uncertain.
A certain degree of uncertainty could be expected of a rejigged batting order in the first Test since Kumar Sangakkara's retirement. Tharanga came out to open on his comeback, Dimuth Karunaratane moved down, Chandimal moved up, and Perera batted at No. 7. This raw batting line-up could have done with some luck, which it turned out they didn't have, but it didn't seem like that in the first over after they had taken India's last two wickets for an addition of 20 to their overnight total.
Ishant Sharma, who had played dangerously with the crease when he batted for three balls in the morning, continued to do so. He might have been hitting out under team instructions, but more importantly, Ishant failed to stay in the crease with the first two balls he bowled. It looked like one of those bad days when everything goes against you when he produced Tharanga's edge in the first over, but saw KL Rahul drop it diving in front of first slip. Rahul and slips would go on to gain more and telling mentions.
Redemption nearly did not come for Ishant and Rahul. Tharanga, prone to offering these opportunities outside off, did so soon enough, and Rahul took a good low catch, but Ishant was asked to wait before he celebrated. Replays didn't show any part of his foot behind the line, but mysteriously Tharanga was asked to keep walking. Umesh Yadav soon got rid of Kaushal Silva with the short ball again. Chandimal attacked attractively, but he fell to Stuart Binny, who on the second day had fallen to an outswinger that pitched and seamed back in to hit him on the back thigh. Binny repeated the dose to Chandimal, but replays showed the ball was likely to sail over the stumps.
Ishant came back to deal Sri Lanka telling blows either side of the lunch break. With his first ball back, he had Angelo Mathews poking at one that held its line outside off. With his second ball after the break, Ishant asked a similar question of Lahiru Thirimanne, and the batsman responded with another edge. In between the two dismissals, Karunaratne played a loose drive to a wide half-volley from Binny.
Having taken both those catches, Rahul - like Ishant - was on his way to turning his day around. But with Perera on 9, Sri Lanka 63 for 6 and Prasad retired hurt, Rahul dropped a simple offering off the bowling of Yadav. This wasn't going to be Rahul's last mistake.
With Sanath Jayasuriya watching, the man he resembles at the wicket, Perera, went on to launch a calculated assault. In Herath, Perera found a determined ally. Perera hit nine fours in his 56-ball 55, Herath was more sedate, but the two had taken the sting out of India's bowling by the time Perera fell top-edging a trademark Jayasuriya pull to cow corner. There was resistance from Kaushal, who scored 16 but stayed in the middle for 11 overs, but after benefiting from dodgy lbws in the first innings of the first Test, he was at the receiving end this time.
One short of what could have been his second Test fifty, Herath was snapped up by Ishant just after tea with a ball just outside off and holding its line. Still, when Prasad began to run away from the stumps, India began to follow him and let Sri Lanka add more. With ball in right hand and heavy bandage on left, Prasad didn't follow anybody. He produced the perfect ball to get rid of a man who had played 290 balls without getting dismissed. It pitched short of a length, on middle, squared the batsman up, and hit off.
Rahul couldn't draw any such comfort from having been done in by an unplayable delivery. For the second time in the Test he premeditated a leave without covering his stumps, and had the top of off pinged. Only this time the bowler was Nuwan Pradeep, who went on to repeat the Ajinkya Rahane dismissal with a ball moving in after pitching.
India made up for all the time lost to rain on the first two days by reducing Sri Lanka to 47 for 6 and injuring Dhammika Prasad, Sri Lanka's strike bowler on this pitch, but the hosts negated India's advantage by adding 154 with their last four wickets and taking India's first three wickets for seven runs. With India effectively 132 for 3 and the last pair of specialist batsmen already at the wicket, this was anybody's game now.
Fifteen wickets fell for 242 runs in 65.1 overs on a frenetic day where fortunes swung wildly. Yet again Prasad produced a wicket in the first over of the innings, and Cheteshwar Pujara, who carried his bat through in the first dig, became the only man to follow such a feat with a duck in the same Test. At lunch Sri Lanka would have drawn heart from the drizzle that didn't cost the Test any time, but the heavy downpour at 4.40pm would have brought India relief, who yet again ran the risk of collapsing meekly after having watched runs from the Sri Lankan lower order.
It might not result in a win, but if anything, this turnaround from Sri Lanka was even more remarkable than in Galle. Back then they had umpiring decisions and all the luck going their way; here they copped three rough decisions when batting. Upul Tharanga was given out off a no-ball even though the TV umpire had a look at the replays, Dinesh Chandimal - counterattacking his way to 23 off 27 - was given out lbw to a ball that hit him bail high and was on its way up, and Tharindu Kaushal was given out lbw off an inside edge.
Debutant Kusal Perera, who ironically benefited from sloppy slip fielding from India, and Rangana Herath batted smartly in adding 79, the third-highest seventh-wicket partnership in Tests from under a score of 50. Against calculated risks from the lower order, tiring bowlers missed their rhythm. Coming back to bat with an injured hand, Prasad played around with the mind of Ishant Sharma, who had earlier starred with a rare five-for, and scored 27 off 23 to take Sri Lanka past 200.
Not being able to bowl tails out and slips catching have been India's twin tormentors in Test cricket of late, and they could do worse than to look at how they bowled in the first session of the day. The pitch didn't allow crazy seam movement or variable bounce. India just put the ball in areas when uncertain batsmen edge it. Sri Lanka's top order was uncertain.
A certain degree of uncertainty could be expected of a rejigged batting order in the first Test since Kumar Sangakkara's retirement. Tharanga came out to open on his comeback, Dimuth Karunaratane moved down, Chandimal moved up, and Perera batted at No. 7. This raw batting line-up could have done with some luck, which it turned out they didn't have, but it didn't seem like that in the first over after they had taken India's last two wickets for an addition of 20 to their overnight total.
Ishant Sharma, who had played dangerously with the crease when he batted for three balls in the morning, continued to do so. He might have been hitting out under team instructions, but more importantly, Ishant failed to stay in the crease with the first two balls he bowled. It looked like one of those bad days when everything goes against you when he produced Tharanga's edge in the first over, but saw KL Rahul drop it diving in front of first slip. Rahul and slips would go on to gain more and telling mentions.
Redemption nearly did not come for Ishant and Rahul. Tharanga, prone to offering these opportunities outside off, did so soon enough, and Rahul took a good low catch, but Ishant was asked to wait before he celebrated. Replays didn't show any part of his foot behind the line, but mysteriously Tharanga was asked to keep walking. Umesh Yadav soon got rid of Kaushal Silva with the short ball again. Chandimal attacked attractively, but he fell to Stuart Binny, who on the second day had fallen to an outswinger that pitched and seamed back in to hit him on the back thigh. Binny repeated the dose to Chandimal, but replays showed the ball was likely to sail over the stumps.
Ishant came back to deal Sri Lanka telling blows either side of the lunch break. With his first ball back, he had Angelo Mathews poking at one that held its line outside off. With his second ball after the break, Ishant asked a similar question of Lahiru Thirimanne, and the batsman responded with another edge. In between the two dismissals, Karunaratne played a loose drive to a wide half-volley from Binny.
Having taken both those catches, Rahul - like Ishant - was on his way to turning his day around. But with Perera on 9, Sri Lanka 63 for 6 and Prasad retired hurt, Rahul dropped a simple offering off the bowling of Yadav. This wasn't going to be Rahul's last mistake.
With Sanath Jayasuriya watching, the man he resembles at the wicket, Perera, went on to launch a calculated assault. In Herath, Perera found a determined ally. Perera hit nine fours in his 56-ball 55, Herath was more sedate, but the two had taken the sting out of India's bowling by the time Perera fell top-edging a trademark Jayasuriya pull to cow corner. There was resistance from Kaushal, who scored 16 but stayed in the middle for 11 overs, but after benefiting from dodgy lbws in the first innings of the first Test, he was at the receiving end this time.
One short of what could have been his second Test fifty, Herath was snapped up by Ishant just after tea with a ball just outside off and holding its line. Still, when Prasad began to run away from the stumps, India began to follow him and let Sri Lanka add more. With ball in right hand and heavy bandage on left, Prasad didn't follow anybody. He produced the perfect ball to get rid of a man who had played 290 balls without getting dismissed. It pitched short of a length, on middle, squared the batsman up, and hit off.
Rahul couldn't draw any such comfort from having been done in by an unplayable delivery. For the second time in the Test he premeditated a leave without covering his stumps, and had the top of off pinged. Only this time the bowler was Nuwan Pradeep, who went on to repeat the Ajinkya Rahane dismissal with a ball moving in after pitching.
Saturday 29 August 2015
T20 Blast Finals Day
NORTHANTS BEAT BIRMINGHAM BEARS BY FIVE WICKETS
Northants 135-5 (18 overs) v Birmingham Bears 131-6 (20 overs)
Holders Birmingham Bears were unable to capitalise on home advantage as they were beaten by Northants in the first T20 Blast semi-final at Edgbaston.
David Willey had Birmingham on the back foot early on with three wickets in his first eight balls to leave them 14-4.
Ateeq Javid's maiden T20 half-century off 49 balls helped the Bears reach a creditable 131-6.
But Richard Levi struck 63 off 46 balls as 2013 champions Northants progressed to the final by five wickets.
England limited overs all-rounder Willey, the star of the quarter-final victory against Sussex with a century off 41 balls, proved his value to the Steelbacks once again as he finished with figures of 3-30.
He struck the early and ultimately decisive blows to the Birmingham top-order after Northants captain Alex Wakely won the toss and elected to bowl.
Varun Chopra was trapped leg before to a yorker in the second over before Will Porterfield was bowled two balls later.
Rory Kleinveldt took a sharp return catch from Tim Ambrose before Ashes winner Ian Bell edged to Ben Duckett to give Willey his third victim and Northants the Bears' fourth wicket in just the fourth over.
Javid (51 not out) and Rikki Clarke (41) mounted a recovery with in a fifth-wicket partnership of 93 but it was Laurie Evans who gave the innings late impetus by hitting two sixes and a four off Willey as the Bears mustered 18 runs from the final over.
In reply, Levi, who batted throughout the innings, was unflustered by the early loss of opening partner Willey (15) and the rest of his top order as Birmingham sensed a comeback at 95-5 in the 14th over.
But Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, returning to the Northants side for the first time since the group stages, settled the nerves to finish unbeaten on 19 and help complete victory with 12 balls to spare.
LANCASHIRE BEAT HAMPSHIRE BY SIX WICKETS
Lancashire 119/4, Hampshire 115
Lancashire reached their second successive T20 Blast final beating Hampshire by six wickets in a low-scoring semi-final at Edgbaston.
Skipper James Vince (69) was the only batsman to adjust to conditions as Hampshire were dismissed for just 115.
Spinners Stephen Parry and Arron Lilley combined to take five wickets for only 32 runs for the Red Rose county.
Karl Brown hit an unbeaten 45 to guide Lancashire to 119-4 and set up a clash with Northants in the final.
The Steelbacks, who won the competition in 2013, earlier beat Birmingham Bears by five wickets in the day's first match
In a repeat of last year's semi-final, Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat.
Vince and Michael Carberry made steady progress, but their opening stand of 31 was broken when Carberry was caught by Ashwell Prince off George Edwards.
Edwards, playing only his sixth T20 for Lancashire, then had wicketkeeper Adam Wheater caught behind down the leg-side a ball later.
Owais Shah and Vince put on 32 for the fourth wicket but Lancashire's introduction of Parry (3-21) and Lilley (2-11) changed the tempo of the innings dramatically.
The pair combined to restrict Hampshire to 77-5 and then 93-8 as runs proved difficult to come by.
Vince continued to see wickets fall around him as he reached a half-century from 47 balls.
But he missed the chance to carry his bat for a fifth time in this year's competition as he skied a ball off James Faulkner to the waiting gloves of Jos Buttler.
Hampshire were dismissed with a ball remaining of their innings for the lowest-ever score in a semi-final batting first.
Lancashire lost Prince early in their reply and Alex Davies received a reprieve when he was caught off a Fidel Edwards no ball.
But Brown held firm despite losing his captain Steven Croft and then England wicketkeeper Buttler to a stunning diving catch by Sean Ervine at long-off.
Faulkner put any fears of a Lancashire wobble aside as he struck Chris Wood for consecutive sixes over mid-wicket to finish the game.
Lancashire v Northants - 18:45 BST
Lancashire 166-7 (20 ovs): Davies 47, Prince 43; Afridi 3-14, Willey 2-21
Northants 153-6 (20 ovs): Cobb 44no, Afridi 26; Faulkner 2-25
Lancashire won by 13 runs
Lancashire Lightning won their first T20 title with a 13-run win over Northants in the final at Edgbaston.
Chasing 167 to reclaim the trophy they won in 2013, the Steelbacks needed 21 to win off the final over.
It proved beyond them as the Red Rose county triumphed in their third final appearance, having finished runners-up last year.
Alex Davies top-scored with 47 off 26 balls in Lancashire's 166-7, with Northants mustering 153-6 in reply.
Not even a late display of power-hitting from Shahid Afridi (26 off 18 balls), who dislocated the finger of James Faulkner with one shot drilled back at the Australian, could see the Steelbacks to their target.
Lancashire, led by former Warwickshire and England one-day coach Ashley Giles, had earlier conquered tricky batting conditions to launch their innings with a stand of 77 between Davies and Ashwell Prince (43) and then add 31 runs from the last three overs to post an imposing total.
In reply, Josh Cobb finished unbeaten on 44 from 37 balls for Northants, but he was left stranded at the wrong end as they came up short.
Northants 135-5 (18 overs) v Birmingham Bears 131-6 (20 overs)
Holders Birmingham Bears were unable to capitalise on home advantage as they were beaten by Northants in the first T20 Blast semi-final at Edgbaston.
David Willey had Birmingham on the back foot early on with three wickets in his first eight balls to leave them 14-4.
Ateeq Javid's maiden T20 half-century off 49 balls helped the Bears reach a creditable 131-6.
But Richard Levi struck 63 off 46 balls as 2013 champions Northants progressed to the final by five wickets.
England limited overs all-rounder Willey, the star of the quarter-final victory against Sussex with a century off 41 balls, proved his value to the Steelbacks once again as he finished with figures of 3-30.
He struck the early and ultimately decisive blows to the Birmingham top-order after Northants captain Alex Wakely won the toss and elected to bowl.
Varun Chopra was trapped leg before to a yorker in the second over before Will Porterfield was bowled two balls later.
Rory Kleinveldt took a sharp return catch from Tim Ambrose before Ashes winner Ian Bell edged to Ben Duckett to give Willey his third victim and Northants the Bears' fourth wicket in just the fourth over.
Javid (51 not out) and Rikki Clarke (41) mounted a recovery with in a fifth-wicket partnership of 93 but it was Laurie Evans who gave the innings late impetus by hitting two sixes and a four off Willey as the Bears mustered 18 runs from the final over.
In reply, Levi, who batted throughout the innings, was unflustered by the early loss of opening partner Willey (15) and the rest of his top order as Birmingham sensed a comeback at 95-5 in the 14th over.
But Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, returning to the Northants side for the first time since the group stages, settled the nerves to finish unbeaten on 19 and help complete victory with 12 balls to spare.
LANCASHIRE BEAT HAMPSHIRE BY SIX WICKETS
Lancashire 119/4, Hampshire 115
Lancashire reached their second successive T20 Blast final beating Hampshire by six wickets in a low-scoring semi-final at Edgbaston.
Skipper James Vince (69) was the only batsman to adjust to conditions as Hampshire were dismissed for just 115.
Spinners Stephen Parry and Arron Lilley combined to take five wickets for only 32 runs for the Red Rose county.
Karl Brown hit an unbeaten 45 to guide Lancashire to 119-4 and set up a clash with Northants in the final.
The Steelbacks, who won the competition in 2013, earlier beat Birmingham Bears by five wickets in the day's first match
In a repeat of last year's semi-final, Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat.
Vince and Michael Carberry made steady progress, but their opening stand of 31 was broken when Carberry was caught by Ashwell Prince off George Edwards.
Edwards, playing only his sixth T20 for Lancashire, then had wicketkeeper Adam Wheater caught behind down the leg-side a ball later.
Owais Shah and Vince put on 32 for the fourth wicket but Lancashire's introduction of Parry (3-21) and Lilley (2-11) changed the tempo of the innings dramatically.
The pair combined to restrict Hampshire to 77-5 and then 93-8 as runs proved difficult to come by.
Vince continued to see wickets fall around him as he reached a half-century from 47 balls.
But he missed the chance to carry his bat for a fifth time in this year's competition as he skied a ball off James Faulkner to the waiting gloves of Jos Buttler.
Hampshire were dismissed with a ball remaining of their innings for the lowest-ever score in a semi-final batting first.
Lancashire lost Prince early in their reply and Alex Davies received a reprieve when he was caught off a Fidel Edwards no ball.
But Brown held firm despite losing his captain Steven Croft and then England wicketkeeper Buttler to a stunning diving catch by Sean Ervine at long-off.
Faulkner put any fears of a Lancashire wobble aside as he struck Chris Wood for consecutive sixes over mid-wicket to finish the game.
Lancashire v Northants - 18:45 BST
Lancashire 166-7 (20 ovs): Davies 47, Prince 43; Afridi 3-14, Willey 2-21
Northants 153-6 (20 ovs): Cobb 44no, Afridi 26; Faulkner 2-25
Lancashire won by 13 runs
Lancashire Lightning won their first T20 title with a 13-run win over Northants in the final at Edgbaston.
Chasing 167 to reclaim the trophy they won in 2013, the Steelbacks needed 21 to win off the final over.
It proved beyond them as the Red Rose county triumphed in their third final appearance, having finished runners-up last year.
Alex Davies top-scored with 47 off 26 balls in Lancashire's 166-7, with Northants mustering 153-6 in reply.
Not even a late display of power-hitting from Shahid Afridi (26 off 18 balls), who dislocated the finger of James Faulkner with one shot drilled back at the Australian, could see the Steelbacks to their target.
Lancashire, led by former Warwickshire and England one-day coach Ashley Giles, had earlier conquered tricky batting conditions to launch their innings with a stand of 77 between Davies and Ashwell Prince (43) and then add 31 runs from the last three overs to post an imposing total.
In reply, Josh Cobb finished unbeaten on 44 from 37 balls for Northants, but he was left stranded at the wrong end as they came up short.
3rd Test Day 2 IND V SL
India 292 for 8 v Sri Lanka
Cheteshwar Pujara, previously out of the side to presumably accommodate a more forceful batsman and an extra bowler, scored his first Test century since the last month of 2013 to deny Sri Lanka clear advantage in the rain-hit SSC Test. He was helped along by Amit Mishra's third Test fifty, an enterprising effort, to rescue India after Dhammika Prasad had reduced India to 180 for 7. It was thanks largely to Prasad that Sri Lanka didn't lose the advantage of bowling first on a pitch with uneven grass covering, which offered seam movement and variable bounce. Pujara and Mishra added 104, the highest eighth-wicket stand for India against Sri Lanka, the highest at SSC, with Mishra's 59 the highest by a No. 9 at SSC.
Given almost a whole day's play has been lost to rain, India might just have enough to feel they can't lose the Test. They can thank Pujara for that. Batting above his preferred station, thanks only to injuries to the openers in the side, Pujara knew he had a brief window to make impact to earn a long-time return. On a pitch as challenging as this, the impact was not going to be immediate, but any runs he scored would be valuable. And he scored an unbeaten 135 of them out of India's 292 for 8.
Immediate impact was left for Prasad. That Sri Lanka ran the risk of wasting the conditions is evident from how they had to bowl 37 overs of spin out of 95.3 on a seaming pitch. Angelo Mathews, the third seamer, doesn't bowl long spells because of back issues, and Prasad bowled only short spells. In the short spells, though, he struck instantly. He took out KL Rahul in the first over of the match, nearly had Virat Kohli in the first over on the second morning, took out Rohit Sharma with the last ball before lunch and Stuart Binny with the first after, and then R Ashwin with the first ball back.
The first wicket of the day, though, went to Mathews, and that too after Kohli had survived a close call off Prasad and seen his burst off. He just couldn't help pushing defensively at wide balls that he is better off leaving alone. In England, it proved to be Kohli's downfall. In Australia and in the two previous Tests, the ball hardly seamed so Kohli kept getting away with it. This time he nicked off.
This brought together two men whom a fully fit India XI might not have space for: Pujara and Rohit, the last two specialist batsmen. After surviving a streaky chip early in the innings and then successfully taking Rangana Herath's spin on, Rohit once again fell just before an interval. In the previous Test, his dismissal brought an end to the day's play; here he ended the first session. Prasad pitched close enough to make Rohit push at this, and the ball just held its line to take the edge. This was the fifth ball of the over, but lunch was taken immediately. Post the break, India's suspect No. 6 Stuart Binny came out to bat. He got a near perfect ball, a ball you can't mean to bowl. You can only hope that a ball shaping up as an outswinger pitches on the seam and then jags back the other way. That's what happened with the first ball after lunch, and Binny was trapped lbw for a golden duck.
Naman Ojha, the debutant, went on to have an important partnership with Pujara. But once the two had worn the bowlers out, with the ball 60 overs old, Ojha holed out when slogging against Tharindu Kuashal, who provides loose balls if you wait for them.
Ask Pujara. He had to wait and wait and wait in the first session, leaving balls alone outside off, defended when they made him play, absorbing the pressure dot after dot after dot. He didn't feel the itch to score runs even when he spent 23 balls on the score of 31. At times he even shaped up to play at balls, and then withdrew at the last moment realising they were outside off and not seaming in.
Pujara was provided a release by the inconsistent Kaushal. He had come on for the first time 30 minutes before lunch, and offered a long half-volley. Pujara had only just got off 31, and he unfurled a cover drive for four and then cut a short ball past slip. Then came a good delivery, but Pujara was in a different mood now, and drove through point. He also drove Prasad to the boundary off the back foot, a shot Pujara had shelved earlier.
Pujara reached his fifty minutes before lunch, and well known for accelerating after passing through an early period of defence, he went from 31 off 91 to 101 off 219.
Pujara found a perfect partner in Mishra. After Ashwin had fallen to a loose push outside off, Mishra came in full of intent. He refused to get bogged down, didn't play the most orthodox shots, but succeeded in frustrating the tired Sri Lankan bowlers. Pujara showed full faith in Mishra's abilities, and the two stole the initiative from Sri Lanka who would have had hopes of batting for a major part of the final session.
Although a few balls turned and bounced from the edge of a grassy patch on the pitch, which should encourage India should the match go into the fourth innings, the pitch had by and large settled down by now. The ball did seam, but Sri Lanka didn't help themselves by bowling either too short or two full at Mishra. By the time Sri Lanka finally found a way past Mishra, who got too close to the ball when charging at Herath and was stumped off his pads, the clouds had come in and cost the Test another hour. Only 95.3 overs were bowled in the first two days.
Cheteshwar Pujara, previously out of the side to presumably accommodate a more forceful batsman and an extra bowler, scored his first Test century since the last month of 2013 to deny Sri Lanka clear advantage in the rain-hit SSC Test. He was helped along by Amit Mishra's third Test fifty, an enterprising effort, to rescue India after Dhammika Prasad had reduced India to 180 for 7. It was thanks largely to Prasad that Sri Lanka didn't lose the advantage of bowling first on a pitch with uneven grass covering, which offered seam movement and variable bounce. Pujara and Mishra added 104, the highest eighth-wicket stand for India against Sri Lanka, the highest at SSC, with Mishra's 59 the highest by a No. 9 at SSC.
Given almost a whole day's play has been lost to rain, India might just have enough to feel they can't lose the Test. They can thank Pujara for that. Batting above his preferred station, thanks only to injuries to the openers in the side, Pujara knew he had a brief window to make impact to earn a long-time return. On a pitch as challenging as this, the impact was not going to be immediate, but any runs he scored would be valuable. And he scored an unbeaten 135 of them out of India's 292 for 8.
Immediate impact was left for Prasad. That Sri Lanka ran the risk of wasting the conditions is evident from how they had to bowl 37 overs of spin out of 95.3 on a seaming pitch. Angelo Mathews, the third seamer, doesn't bowl long spells because of back issues, and Prasad bowled only short spells. In the short spells, though, he struck instantly. He took out KL Rahul in the first over of the match, nearly had Virat Kohli in the first over on the second morning, took out Rohit Sharma with the last ball before lunch and Stuart Binny with the first after, and then R Ashwin with the first ball back.
The first wicket of the day, though, went to Mathews, and that too after Kohli had survived a close call off Prasad and seen his burst off. He just couldn't help pushing defensively at wide balls that he is better off leaving alone. In England, it proved to be Kohli's downfall. In Australia and in the two previous Tests, the ball hardly seamed so Kohli kept getting away with it. This time he nicked off.
This brought together two men whom a fully fit India XI might not have space for: Pujara and Rohit, the last two specialist batsmen. After surviving a streaky chip early in the innings and then successfully taking Rangana Herath's spin on, Rohit once again fell just before an interval. In the previous Test, his dismissal brought an end to the day's play; here he ended the first session. Prasad pitched close enough to make Rohit push at this, and the ball just held its line to take the edge. This was the fifth ball of the over, but lunch was taken immediately. Post the break, India's suspect No. 6 Stuart Binny came out to bat. He got a near perfect ball, a ball you can't mean to bowl. You can only hope that a ball shaping up as an outswinger pitches on the seam and then jags back the other way. That's what happened with the first ball after lunch, and Binny was trapped lbw for a golden duck.
Naman Ojha, the debutant, went on to have an important partnership with Pujara. But once the two had worn the bowlers out, with the ball 60 overs old, Ojha holed out when slogging against Tharindu Kuashal, who provides loose balls if you wait for them.
Ask Pujara. He had to wait and wait and wait in the first session, leaving balls alone outside off, defended when they made him play, absorbing the pressure dot after dot after dot. He didn't feel the itch to score runs even when he spent 23 balls on the score of 31. At times he even shaped up to play at balls, and then withdrew at the last moment realising they were outside off and not seaming in.
Pujara was provided a release by the inconsistent Kaushal. He had come on for the first time 30 minutes before lunch, and offered a long half-volley. Pujara had only just got off 31, and he unfurled a cover drive for four and then cut a short ball past slip. Then came a good delivery, but Pujara was in a different mood now, and drove through point. He also drove Prasad to the boundary off the back foot, a shot Pujara had shelved earlier.
Pujara reached his fifty minutes before lunch, and well known for accelerating after passing through an early period of defence, he went from 31 off 91 to 101 off 219.
Pujara found a perfect partner in Mishra. After Ashwin had fallen to a loose push outside off, Mishra came in full of intent. He refused to get bogged down, didn't play the most orthodox shots, but succeeded in frustrating the tired Sri Lankan bowlers. Pujara showed full faith in Mishra's abilities, and the two stole the initiative from Sri Lanka who would have had hopes of batting for a major part of the final session.
Although a few balls turned and bounced from the edge of a grassy patch on the pitch, which should encourage India should the match go into the fourth innings, the pitch had by and large settled down by now. The ball did seam, but Sri Lanka didn't help themselves by bowling either too short or two full at Mishra. By the time Sri Lanka finally found a way past Mishra, who got too close to the ball when charging at Herath and was stumped off his pads, the clouds had come in and cost the Test another hour. Only 95.3 overs were bowled in the first two days.
Friday 28 August 2015
Women's Ashes 2nd T20 AUS beat ENG & win Ashes
AUS 107/7 beat ENG 87 by 20 runs & are 10-4 up, they win the Ashes
Australia regained the Women's Ashes after England collapsed to 87 all out to lose the second Twenty20 international by 20 runs.
Needing to win at Hove to keep the multi-format series alive, England were chasing 108 but slipped to 10-3 and 23-5, with Ellyse Perry taking 2-13.
Lydia Greenway made 26, but was last out with five balls to go.
Australia, who managed only 107-7, take an unassailable 10-4 lead on points with just one T20 remaining.
Australia regained the Women's Ashes after England collapsed to 87 all out to lose the second Twenty20 international by 20 runs.
Needing to win at Hove to keep the multi-format series alive, England were chasing 108 but slipped to 10-3 and 23-5, with Ellyse Perry taking 2-13.
Lydia Greenway made 26, but was last out with five balls to go.
Australia, who managed only 107-7, take an unassailable 10-4 lead on points with just one T20 remaining.
3rd Test Day 1 SL V IND (50/2)
IND 50/2
Asked to bat on a testing, grassy pitch, India held on grimly - with some luck on their side - to keep the damage down to two wickets on a day that rain allowed only 15 overs of play. KL Rahul fell shouldering arms in the first over, Ajinkya Rahane was done in by seam movement soon after, but Cheteshwar Pujara - getting an opportunity in the absence of two injured openers - and Virat Kohli stayed together for 36 runs before heavy showers forced an early lunch. Rain continued to make frequent appearances, making sure no more play was possible on day one.
Once again Dhammika Prasad struck in the first over - he is making quite a habit of doing so in the first over of an innings or of a new spell. Also, much like Marcus North of Australia, Rahul continued the trend of making either a low score or a hundred. He now has seven scores of 16 and below, and two hundreds. Despite Prasad's form for seam movement back in, Rahul left alone the second ball of the day in premeditated fashion, and had his off stump pegged back. Had he even covered the stumps, Rahul would have forced the umpire to make an lbw decision, which could have gone either way given how the ball hit the top of off stump.
Rahane, the other centurion at P Sara Oval, got off to a better start than in the first innings last week, but was done in by the same movement from a full ball from Nuwan Pradeep, who had taken Dushmantha Chameera's place in the XI. The most crucial play of the session, though, belonged to one of the two debutant wicketkeepers. Kusal Perera, who does not keep in limited-overs cricket when playing alongside Dinesh Chandimal, came out with the gloves on. The only reason you could think of is that Perera bats higher in the shorter formats, and Sri Lanka are looking to get more out of Chandimal's batting in Tests, and want him up the order.
Be that as it may, Kohli, on 8, couldn't resist pushing at a length ball wide outside off. This one from Pradeep seamed back in, took the inside edge, but Perera dropped a fairly simple catch to his left. Also, around the same time, Prasad had been taken out of the attack after three overs because of a fitness issue. Instead of being 28 for 3, India were only 33 for 2 thanks to five penalty runs because Perera had spilled the ball on to the helmet placed behind him.
Kohli and Pujara showed better discipline, but Prasad came back to force another impatient push from the India captain. Having scored only one run off the last 19 balls he faced, Kohli again played away from the body, but in a worrying sign a second edge in the first session of the Test fell short of the slips. The first one had come from Pujara.
The amount of grass left on this relaid pitch was interesting for the SSC track, the only maligned pitch in Sri Lanka. Under pressure to produce results, the SSC went the way of the grass, but the lack of bounce was a worry. Most of the results at this venue have come through big first-innings runs, and a combination of spin and scoreboard pressure. Recent matches that have begun with early wickets have ended in draws. Rain did not help matters either.
Asked to bat on a testing, grassy pitch, India held on grimly - with some luck on their side - to keep the damage down to two wickets on a day that rain allowed only 15 overs of play. KL Rahul fell shouldering arms in the first over, Ajinkya Rahane was done in by seam movement soon after, but Cheteshwar Pujara - getting an opportunity in the absence of two injured openers - and Virat Kohli stayed together for 36 runs before heavy showers forced an early lunch. Rain continued to make frequent appearances, making sure no more play was possible on day one.
Once again Dhammika Prasad struck in the first over - he is making quite a habit of doing so in the first over of an innings or of a new spell. Also, much like Marcus North of Australia, Rahul continued the trend of making either a low score or a hundred. He now has seven scores of 16 and below, and two hundreds. Despite Prasad's form for seam movement back in, Rahul left alone the second ball of the day in premeditated fashion, and had his off stump pegged back. Had he even covered the stumps, Rahul would have forced the umpire to make an lbw decision, which could have gone either way given how the ball hit the top of off stump.
Rahane, the other centurion at P Sara Oval, got off to a better start than in the first innings last week, but was done in by the same movement from a full ball from Nuwan Pradeep, who had taken Dushmantha Chameera's place in the XI. The most crucial play of the session, though, belonged to one of the two debutant wicketkeepers. Kusal Perera, who does not keep in limited-overs cricket when playing alongside Dinesh Chandimal, came out with the gloves on. The only reason you could think of is that Perera bats higher in the shorter formats, and Sri Lanka are looking to get more out of Chandimal's batting in Tests, and want him up the order.
Be that as it may, Kohli, on 8, couldn't resist pushing at a length ball wide outside off. This one from Pradeep seamed back in, took the inside edge, but Perera dropped a fairly simple catch to his left. Also, around the same time, Prasad had been taken out of the attack after three overs because of a fitness issue. Instead of being 28 for 3, India were only 33 for 2 thanks to five penalty runs because Perera had spilled the ball on to the helmet placed behind him.
Kohli and Pujara showed better discipline, but Prasad came back to force another impatient push from the India captain. Having scored only one run off the last 19 balls he faced, Kohli again played away from the body, but in a worrying sign a second edge in the first session of the Test fell short of the slips. The first one had come from Pujara.
The amount of grass left on this relaid pitch was interesting for the SSC track, the only maligned pitch in Sri Lanka. Under pressure to produce results, the SSC went the way of the grass, but the lack of bounce was a worry. Most of the results at this venue have come through big first-innings runs, and a combination of spin and scoreboard pressure. Recent matches that have begun with early wickets have ended in draws. Rain did not help matters either.
Thursday 27 August 2015
Royal London One Day Cup Quarter Finals 3 + 4
Yorkshire 252-9 (50 overs): Leaning 72, Plunkett 49 not out; Topley 4-56
Essex 232 (47.5 overs): Westley 54, ten Doeschate 52; Plunkett 3-58
Yorkshire won by 20 runs
Yorkshire booked a place in the semi-finals of the One-Day Cup with a 20-run victory over Essex at Chelmsford.
After being asked to bat, the Tykes made 252-9 thanks to Jack Leaning's composed 72 and an unbeaten 49 off 32 balls from Liam Plunkett.
Essex looked well placed at 189-5 with James Foster and Ryan ten Doeschate (52) sharing a half-century stand.
But both fell in quick succession to all-rounder Will Rhodes and the hosts were eventually all out for 232.
Yorkshire will now play Gloucestershire at Headingley on Sunday, 6 September.
Earlier, the visitors, who lost returning England opener Adam Lyth for 36, had looked set for a much bigger total at 163-3 with Leaning and Gary Ballance both well set.
However, once Ballance nicked Ravi Bopara behind for 32 it triggered a spectacular collapse which saw Yorkshire fall to 202-9, led by Reece Topley with 4-56.
But Plunkett smashed three fours and three sixes in his attacking innings, including 29 off the final two overs to take Yorkshire to a respectable total.
In the chase, Tom Westley got Essex off to a fine start as he made 54, but once Plunkett (3-58) uprooted his stumps and soon removed the dangerous Jesse Ryder and Bopara, the hosts found themselves struggling on 129-5.
Foster and ten Doeschate's partnership of 60 swung the momentum once again, but after ten Doeschate picked out Tim Bresnan on the boundary, Essex's hopes quickly faded.
Bresnan then had the final say with the ball as he bowled Topley in the 48th over to wrap up the win.
Surrey 273 (49.5 overs): Roy 112; Tredwell 3-47, Coles 3-48
Kent 233 (37.4 overs): Coles 100; T Curran 3-22
Surrey won by 17 runs (D/L method)
Surrey and England opener Jason Roy hit a fine century to set up a 17-run win over Kent in a rain-affected One-Day Cup quarter-final match at the Oval.
Roy struck 112 off 116 balls, but his dismissal sparked a collapse which saw the hosts lose their last eight wickets for 81 as they were bowled out for 273.
Kent reached 22-2 before rain saw them set a revised 251 off 40 overs.
Matt Coles smashed a career-best 100 to take Kent close but was last man out as they were dismissed for 233.
Kent looked to be heading towards a big defeat at 169-9, before Coles hit nine sixes in his magnificent 73-ball innings as he put on 64 for the last wicket with Matt Hunn, who scored only one.
However, just as the visitors sensed pulling off a stunning victory, Coles nicked Tom Curran (3-22) behind.
Jason Roy has scored 400 runs in this year's competition at an average of exactly 50. He has hit two hundreds and one half-century in eight innings.
Earlier Roy, who has been named in England's ODI and T20 squads to face Australia, was the mainstay of a Surrey innings which saw no other batsman pass fifty.
Once the 25-year-old was caught by Alex Blake off James Tredwell (3-47) in the 36th over, the rest of the batting line-up folded as the innings ended with one ball remaining.
Teenage paceman Sam Curran then continued his fine debut season removing Kent openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly, before a heavy rain shower led to a delay of more than an hour.
Once play resumed at 20:00 BST, older brother Tom Curran took two quick wickets and Zafar Ansari removed Sam Billings cheaply as Kent slumped to 49-5.
Darren Stevens showed some resistance with 37 off 35 balls before he edged James Burke behind to leave Kent eight down and still needing 111 to win off 77 balls.
Coles then provided the late fireworks, but couldn't quite get his side over the line as Surrey set up a semi-final clash with Nottinghamshire at the Oval on Monday, 7 September.
Essex 232 (47.5 overs): Westley 54, ten Doeschate 52; Plunkett 3-58
Yorkshire won by 20 runs
Yorkshire booked a place in the semi-finals of the One-Day Cup with a 20-run victory over Essex at Chelmsford.
After being asked to bat, the Tykes made 252-9 thanks to Jack Leaning's composed 72 and an unbeaten 49 off 32 balls from Liam Plunkett.
Essex looked well placed at 189-5 with James Foster and Ryan ten Doeschate (52) sharing a half-century stand.
But both fell in quick succession to all-rounder Will Rhodes and the hosts were eventually all out for 232.
Yorkshire will now play Gloucestershire at Headingley on Sunday, 6 September.
Earlier, the visitors, who lost returning England opener Adam Lyth for 36, had looked set for a much bigger total at 163-3 with Leaning and Gary Ballance both well set.
However, once Ballance nicked Ravi Bopara behind for 32 it triggered a spectacular collapse which saw Yorkshire fall to 202-9, led by Reece Topley with 4-56.
But Plunkett smashed three fours and three sixes in his attacking innings, including 29 off the final two overs to take Yorkshire to a respectable total.
In the chase, Tom Westley got Essex off to a fine start as he made 54, but once Plunkett (3-58) uprooted his stumps and soon removed the dangerous Jesse Ryder and Bopara, the hosts found themselves struggling on 129-5.
Foster and ten Doeschate's partnership of 60 swung the momentum once again, but after ten Doeschate picked out Tim Bresnan on the boundary, Essex's hopes quickly faded.
Bresnan then had the final say with the ball as he bowled Topley in the 48th over to wrap up the win.
Surrey 273 (49.5 overs): Roy 112; Tredwell 3-47, Coles 3-48
Kent 233 (37.4 overs): Coles 100; T Curran 3-22
Surrey won by 17 runs (D/L method)
Surrey and England opener Jason Roy hit a fine century to set up a 17-run win over Kent in a rain-affected One-Day Cup quarter-final match at the Oval.
Roy struck 112 off 116 balls, but his dismissal sparked a collapse which saw the hosts lose their last eight wickets for 81 as they were bowled out for 273.
Kent reached 22-2 before rain saw them set a revised 251 off 40 overs.
Matt Coles smashed a career-best 100 to take Kent close but was last man out as they were dismissed for 233.
Kent looked to be heading towards a big defeat at 169-9, before Coles hit nine sixes in his magnificent 73-ball innings as he put on 64 for the last wicket with Matt Hunn, who scored only one.
However, just as the visitors sensed pulling off a stunning victory, Coles nicked Tom Curran (3-22) behind.
Jason Roy has scored 400 runs in this year's competition at an average of exactly 50. He has hit two hundreds and one half-century in eight innings.
Earlier Roy, who has been named in England's ODI and T20 squads to face Australia, was the mainstay of a Surrey innings which saw no other batsman pass fifty.
Once the 25-year-old was caught by Alex Blake off James Tredwell (3-47) in the 36th over, the rest of the batting line-up folded as the innings ended with one ball remaining.
Teenage paceman Sam Curran then continued his fine debut season removing Kent openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly, before a heavy rain shower led to a delay of more than an hour.
Once play resumed at 20:00 BST, older brother Tom Curran took two quick wickets and Zafar Ansari removed Sam Billings cheaply as Kent slumped to 49-5.
Darren Stevens showed some resistance with 37 off 35 balls before he edged James Burke behind to leave Kent eight down and still needing 111 to win off 77 balls.
Coles then provided the late fireworks, but couldn't quite get his side over the line as Surrey set up a semi-final clash with Nottinghamshire at the Oval on Monday, 7 September.
Wednesday 26 August 2015
Women's Ashes 1st T20 ENG bt AUS by 7 wkts (AUS lead 8-4)
Women's Twenty20 international, Chelmsford
Australia: 122-8 (20 overs) (Perry 30, Sciver 2-18)
England: 125-3 (17.3 overs) (Taylor 50, Osborne 2-22)
England won by seven wickets
England kept their hopes of retaining the points-based Women's Ashes alive with a seven-wicket win over Australia in the first Twenty20 at Chelmsford.
Needing to win all three T20s to retain the urn, Sarah Taylor's 50 set up the comprehensive victory as the hosts chased down 123 with 15 balls left.
The 26-year-old shared a 77-run second-wicket stand with captain Charlotte Edwards, who made a valuable 39.
Australia, having been put into bat, were restricted to 122-8.
A brilliant fielding display by England saw three players run out, while Natalie Sciver took 2-18.
Taylor, who had failed to fire with the bat in the Ashes series so far, looked back to her bristling best, playing a series of impressive ramp shots in her 12th T20 half century.
Despite the loss, the visitors require just one victory from the remaining two T20s at Hove and Cardiff on Friday and Monday respectively.
Australia: 122-8 (20 overs) (Perry 30, Sciver 2-18)
England: 125-3 (17.3 overs) (Taylor 50, Osborne 2-22)
England won by seven wickets
England kept their hopes of retaining the points-based Women's Ashes alive with a seven-wicket win over Australia in the first Twenty20 at Chelmsford.
Needing to win all three T20s to retain the urn, Sarah Taylor's 50 set up the comprehensive victory as the hosts chased down 123 with 15 balls left.
The 26-year-old shared a 77-run second-wicket stand with captain Charlotte Edwards, who made a valuable 39.
Australia, having been put into bat, were restricted to 122-8.
A brilliant fielding display by England saw three players run out, while Natalie Sciver took 2-18.
Taylor, who had failed to fire with the bat in the Ashes series so far, looked back to her bristling best, playing a series of impressive ramp shots in her 12th T20 half century.
Despite the loss, the visitors require just one victory from the remaining two T20s at Hove and Cardiff on Friday and Monday respectively.
Royal London One Day Cup 2nd Quarter Final
Hampshire 217-7 (34 overs): Adams 97, Smith 50; Fuller 2-39
Gloucestershire 218-6 (33 overs): Klinger 87, Jones 39 not out; Arafat 3-56
Gloucestershire won by four wickets
Gloucestershire sealed a place in the semi-final of the One-Day Cup after winning a thrilling rain-reduced match against Hampshire in Bristol.
Set a target of 218 off 34 overs, Jack Taylor's 34 off 17 balls and Geraint Jones's unbeaten 39 saw them to 218-6 with an over to spare.
Michael Klinger, dropped on nought, was the pick of the batsman with a fine 87.
Earlier, Hampshire's Jimmy Adams was run out for 97 and Will Smith hit 50 off 25 balls in the visitors' 217-7.
After four inspections because of overnight rain, play finally got under way at 13:45 BST - a delay of more than three hours.
Having been asked to bat, Hampshire slumped to 1-2 with Michael Carberry dismissed for a three-ball duck while Adam Wheater joined him in the pavilion shortly after.
As the early-morning gloom was replaced by mid-afternoon sunshine, Hampshire's batting improved, led by the skipper Adams - who was celebrating his 100th List-A appearance for the south coast side.
But his 99-ball innings, which included six fours and two sixes, came to an end three runs short of a deserved century when he was run out by James Fuller while attempting to come back for a second.
In the chase, Gloucestershire were thankful for a dropped catch from Adams with Klinger yet to score, but at the halfway stage of their innings they were 81-3 with Chris Dent, Gareth Roderick and Hamish Marshall the men to fall.
Klinger looked to be taking the hosts to victory as he upped the run-rate, but was eventually caught by Adams to leave Gloucestershire 163-5 - still needing 55 off 33 balls.
However, two big overs of 19 and 17 runs gave Gloucestershire hope before Taylor gave his wicket away with 11 required.
But Jones smashed a six to take his side to victory, with Gloucestershire now facing an away trip to either Yorkshire or Essex.
Gloucestershire 218-6 (33 overs): Klinger 87, Jones 39 not out; Arafat 3-56
Gloucestershire won by four wickets
Gloucestershire sealed a place in the semi-final of the One-Day Cup after winning a thrilling rain-reduced match against Hampshire in Bristol.
Set a target of 218 off 34 overs, Jack Taylor's 34 off 17 balls and Geraint Jones's unbeaten 39 saw them to 218-6 with an over to spare.
Michael Klinger, dropped on nought, was the pick of the batsman with a fine 87.
Earlier, Hampshire's Jimmy Adams was run out for 97 and Will Smith hit 50 off 25 balls in the visitors' 217-7.
After four inspections because of overnight rain, play finally got under way at 13:45 BST - a delay of more than three hours.
Having been asked to bat, Hampshire slumped to 1-2 with Michael Carberry dismissed for a three-ball duck while Adam Wheater joined him in the pavilion shortly after.
As the early-morning gloom was replaced by mid-afternoon sunshine, Hampshire's batting improved, led by the skipper Adams - who was celebrating his 100th List-A appearance for the south coast side.
But his 99-ball innings, which included six fours and two sixes, came to an end three runs short of a deserved century when he was run out by James Fuller while attempting to come back for a second.
In the chase, Gloucestershire were thankful for a dropped catch from Adams with Klinger yet to score, but at the halfway stage of their innings they were 81-3 with Chris Dent, Gareth Roderick and Hamish Marshall the men to fall.
Klinger looked to be taking the hosts to victory as he upped the run-rate, but was eventually caught by Adams to leave Gloucestershire 163-5 - still needing 55 off 33 balls.
However, two big overs of 19 and 17 runs gave Gloucestershire hope before Taylor gave his wicket away with 11 required.
But Jones smashed a six to take his side to victory, with Gloucestershire now facing an away trip to either Yorkshire or Essex.
3rd ODI SA V NZ
South Africa 283 for 7 beat New Zealand 221 by 62 runs
South Africa have not lost successive ODI series in five years; a score higher than 271 has never been successfully chased at Kingsmead and neither of those records changed as the hosts sealed the series in the decider with a 62-run margin. In the process, AB de Villiers became the fastest batsman to 8,000 ODI runs, reaching the milestone in 182 innings, 18 fewer than Sourav Ganguly; South Africa posted their highest opening stand in 17 ODIs, of 89; Morne van Wyk scored his first innings of substance since his recall; Farhaan Behardien's cameo showed his ability to finish and Imran Tahir underlined why he is being regarded one of the best limited-overs spinner in operation at the moment.
That's not to say New Zealand did not turn up. Their attack adapted fairly well to a surface that did not offer the seamers as much as was expected. Adam Milne and Doug Bracewell bowled tight lines and Grant Elliott's taking pace off the ball proved effective, but their fielding - they put down four chances compared to South Africa's three - let them down and their effort with the bat fizzled out once they lost the men they usually rely on. Martin Guptill went early and Kane Williamson was dismissed seven balls before the halfway stage of their innings and it proved a loss from which New Zealand could not recover.
After taking Tuesday off to rub shoulders with the national rugby squad instead of training to save the series, South Africa's intent was questioned but they began answering with bat in hand. Van Wyk's reign saw no need in his natural aggression and found his first runs with a flat-batted pull. Amla played the foil and rotated strike while van Wyk beat the ball to the boundary. He almost paid for that approach when he was on 17 and top-edged a pull off Milne that should have been caught at fine leg but Bracewell spilled an easy chance.
Bracewell had salt rubbed into the wound when van Wyk took 10 runs off his next over to see South Africa through the Powerplay unscathed. He went on to survive New Zealand's squeeze, which accounted for Amla, who sent a leading edge back to Grant Elliott, and Rilee Rossouw, who was caught at slip, and brought up a half-century off 79 balls. That score may be too late to save his international career but it played an important part in setting South Africa up.
De Villiers and David Miller built on that with a fourth-wicket partnership of 86, which came in just 10 overs. Miller found some of the touch he has been missing, perhaps because he had de Villiers at the other end launching most of the attack. The South African captain reached 8,000 runs with a swipe to midwicket and upped the ante when he dispatched an Ish Sodhi long-hop over midwicket, took three fours of Milne's seventh over and looked in the mood for a big one, particularly with time left in the innings. But he could not negotiate a Bracewell slower ball which found his off stump and left it to Miller to take over.
Miller lasted less than three overs before loosely offering a catch to Luke Ronchi but Behardien was on hand to accelerate. He timed and placed the ball well for a quickfire 40 off 28 balls to ensure South Africa scored 44 runs in the last six overs and finished strongly.
Behardien's effort proved to be the major difference between the two sides, after New Zealand's innings started in similar fashion. Guptill fell to a rejuvenated Dale Steyn, who invited the drive with a full delivery that moved away and found the edge but Tom Latham and Williamson provided stability.
They did not take any risks against Kagiso Rabada, who bowled with pace and control, beat the bat and found steep bounce, but waited for lapses from Kyle Abbott and David Wiese - two bowlers who have still not become as consistent as South Africa might like. Williamson could have been out for 24 when he pulled to Miller at deep midwicket but was let off, and then again on 37 when Rabada raced in from deep cover and dived needlessly instead of being on his feet and collecting, and New Zealand looked like they were laying the platform for a victory push.
Tahir changed all that with a googly that snuck under Williamson's bat as he came down the track. Although Latham brought up his fifty three balls later, New Zealand's fight seemed faded.
Latham was run-out to bring Elliott to the crease but he could not pull off his World Cup semi-final heroics. New Zealand lost their last eight wickets for 107 runs, with South Africa's attack including a still-wayward Wiese sharing spoils, and after their first two fell with the score on 102, it was obvious why an innings of two halves would not win them the series.
South Africa have not lost successive ODI series in five years; a score higher than 271 has never been successfully chased at Kingsmead and neither of those records changed as the hosts sealed the series in the decider with a 62-run margin. In the process, AB de Villiers became the fastest batsman to 8,000 ODI runs, reaching the milestone in 182 innings, 18 fewer than Sourav Ganguly; South Africa posted their highest opening stand in 17 ODIs, of 89; Morne van Wyk scored his first innings of substance since his recall; Farhaan Behardien's cameo showed his ability to finish and Imran Tahir underlined why he is being regarded one of the best limited-overs spinner in operation at the moment.
That's not to say New Zealand did not turn up. Their attack adapted fairly well to a surface that did not offer the seamers as much as was expected. Adam Milne and Doug Bracewell bowled tight lines and Grant Elliott's taking pace off the ball proved effective, but their fielding - they put down four chances compared to South Africa's three - let them down and their effort with the bat fizzled out once they lost the men they usually rely on. Martin Guptill went early and Kane Williamson was dismissed seven balls before the halfway stage of their innings and it proved a loss from which New Zealand could not recover.
After taking Tuesday off to rub shoulders with the national rugby squad instead of training to save the series, South Africa's intent was questioned but they began answering with bat in hand. Van Wyk's reign saw no need in his natural aggression and found his first runs with a flat-batted pull. Amla played the foil and rotated strike while van Wyk beat the ball to the boundary. He almost paid for that approach when he was on 17 and top-edged a pull off Milne that should have been caught at fine leg but Bracewell spilled an easy chance.
Bracewell had salt rubbed into the wound when van Wyk took 10 runs off his next over to see South Africa through the Powerplay unscathed. He went on to survive New Zealand's squeeze, which accounted for Amla, who sent a leading edge back to Grant Elliott, and Rilee Rossouw, who was caught at slip, and brought up a half-century off 79 balls. That score may be too late to save his international career but it played an important part in setting South Africa up.
De Villiers and David Miller built on that with a fourth-wicket partnership of 86, which came in just 10 overs. Miller found some of the touch he has been missing, perhaps because he had de Villiers at the other end launching most of the attack. The South African captain reached 8,000 runs with a swipe to midwicket and upped the ante when he dispatched an Ish Sodhi long-hop over midwicket, took three fours of Milne's seventh over and looked in the mood for a big one, particularly with time left in the innings. But he could not negotiate a Bracewell slower ball which found his off stump and left it to Miller to take over.
Miller lasted less than three overs before loosely offering a catch to Luke Ronchi but Behardien was on hand to accelerate. He timed and placed the ball well for a quickfire 40 off 28 balls to ensure South Africa scored 44 runs in the last six overs and finished strongly.
Behardien's effort proved to be the major difference between the two sides, after New Zealand's innings started in similar fashion. Guptill fell to a rejuvenated Dale Steyn, who invited the drive with a full delivery that moved away and found the edge but Tom Latham and Williamson provided stability.
They did not take any risks against Kagiso Rabada, who bowled with pace and control, beat the bat and found steep bounce, but waited for lapses from Kyle Abbott and David Wiese - two bowlers who have still not become as consistent as South Africa might like. Williamson could have been out for 24 when he pulled to Miller at deep midwicket but was let off, and then again on 37 when Rabada raced in from deep cover and dived needlessly instead of being on his feet and collecting, and New Zealand looked like they were laying the platform for a victory push.
Tahir changed all that with a googly that snuck under Williamson's bat as he came down the track. Although Latham brought up his fifty three balls later, New Zealand's fight seemed faded.
Latham was run-out to bring Elliott to the crease but he could not pull off his World Cup semi-final heroics. New Zealand lost their last eight wickets for 107 runs, with South Africa's attack including a still-wayward Wiese sharing spoils, and after their first two fell with the score on 102, it was obvious why an innings of two halves would not win them the series.
Tuesday 25 August 2015
Royal London One Day Cup Quarter Final 1
Nottinghamshire 170-4 (24 overs): Hales 62, Christian 48, Taylor 29, Wessels 25
Durham 144 (21.2 overs): Stoneman 36, MacLeod 34, Clark 28, Mustard 24, Patel 4-11, Mullaney 3-32
Nottinghamshire won by 49 runs (D/L)
Nottinghamshire reached the One-Day Cup semi-finals with a rain-reduced 49-run quarter-final victory over Durham.
The reigning champions were asked to chase a Duckworth Lewis readjusted target of 194 from 24 overs at Trent Bridge, but fell well short as Samit Patel (4-11) took four quick wickets.
Alex Hales top scored with 63 for Notts who had to suffer a frustrating five-hour rain break in their innings.
They eventually reached 170-4 from 24 overs, Durham falling short on 144.
Tuesday evening's One-Day Cup semi-final draw
Sunday 6 September - Surrey or Kent v Nottinghamshire (10:30 BST)
Monday 7 September - Essex or Yorkshire v Gloucestershire or Hampshire (10:30 BST)
Notts had made good headway on 94-1, with Hales on 53, when rain called a halt after 17.2 overs.
A further early evening downpour looked like ending play for the day, with the sides prepared to reconvene on Wednesday.
But, after a near five-hour delay, and with the game now reduced to 24 overs a side, Notts re-emerged to plunder a further 76 off the final 40 balls as they reached 170-4.
One Trent Bridge spectator waits patiently after rain stops play during the One-Day Cup quarter-final between Nottinghamshire and Durham
Although Hales holed out to deep mid on just a ball after being equally well caught by a spectator in, Daniel Christian went on to reach 48 and captain James Taylor hit three sixes in his 29 off 20 balls.
In reply, Durham raced to 63-0 in the seventh over, but then crucially lost both openers Mark Stoneman and Phil Mustard, as well as skipper Paul Collingwood, brilliantly caught and bowled by Steve Mullaney, for just one run in the space of two overs.
Graham Clark and Calum MacLeod mustered some hefty blows to keep them in it with a 62-run fourth-wicket stand. But Patel got rid of both, before catching Gordon Muchall and adding two more scalps as Durham quickly collapsed from 125-3 to 144 all out.
The semi-final draw took place before the first of the four quarter-finals, throwing up an away tie for Notts on Sunday 6 September at either Canterbury or The Oval against the winners of Thursday's Kent v Surrey quarter-final.
Monday 24 August 2015
2nd Test Day 5 IND beat SL by 278 runs
India 393 and 325 for 8 dec beat Sri Lanka 306 and 134 by 278 runs
It had been more than a year since India last won a Test match, at Lord's in 2014, but the final lap of their long wait zipped past quicker than anyone would have expected. Seven balls after lunch on the fifth day, Dushmantha Chameera padded up to an Amit Mishra googly. Mishra spun around in appeal; Rod Tucker's finger went up immediately.
With that, the series was level. Sri Lanka had lost their last eight wickets for 62 runs. Worryingly, for a side that is losing perhaps its greatest-ever batsman to retirement, the collapse only continued a trend: they had lost their last seven wickets for 65 runs in the first innings.
If there were any furrows on Virat Kohli's brow while he chased his first win as India's Test captain, they weren't caused by a Sri Lankan batsman. If they appeared at all, they did so only when rain fell with the last pair at the crease to bring the covers onto the field and hasten the lunch break by 10 minutes.
For the second time in the match, India's attack refused to release the pressure on the batsmen. R Ashwin, who had taken the first two Sri Lankan wickets on the fourth evening, picked up his 12th five-for in Test cricket, but the other three specialist bowlers contributed significantly as well.
Angelo Mathews, first-innings centurion and 23 overnight, loomed as the biggest obstacle in India's path to victory, but they saw his back at the earliest possible moment. Umesh Yadav had troubled him right through the first innings, opening him up constantly with his away movement from a good length. But while he had survived those deliveries by playing inside the line, his hands followed the ball this time, and KL Rahul dived to his right to pouch him behind the stumps.
Amit Mishra was the next bowler to get on the scorecard. Dinesh Chandimal had made 15 in his usual manner, which spans the spectrum from busy to edgy, before the legspinner's drift undid him. Shaping to sweep, he ended up playing down the wrong line as the ball swerved down the leg side and turned sharply to hit leg and middle stumps.
Lahiru Thirimanne had looked entirely at sea against Ashwin. In the 12th over of the morning, he beat him twice with his offbreak - once when the batsman was on the back foot, with a slow, loopy delivery; once on the front foot with a quicker, flatter ball that turned just as much - and nearly had him lbw when he played back to his arm ball. He wouldn't be denied for too much longer. In his next over, Thirimanne stepped out to Ashwin, didn't get to the pitch of the ball, closed his face too early, and popped a catch to silly point.
Ishant Sharma was the next Indian bowler on the scorecard. He had jagged one back four overs ago to hit Dimuth Karunaratne's pad - height saved the batsman - and that may have prompted Jehan Mubarak to poke nervously at a ball angling away from him. Virat Kohli, standing a couple of steps closer than normal at second slip, took a good low catch.
Karunaratne had struggled against Ashwin all through the fourth evening, but having survived that spell was looking likely to carry his bat - particularly when Dhammika Prasad, the most capable of the tailenders, holed out slogging at Ashwin. That didn't materialise, however, as he went back to another of Ashwin's arm balls, misreading the length of it. It hurried through and bowled him off the pad.
The end looked near when Mishra had Tharindu Kaushal - who had been bruised on the glove by an Umesh bouncer in the previous over - lbw with a googly. It could have been all over next ball, when Dushmantha Chameera prodded forward uncertainly to another wrong 'un, but this time umpire Rod Tucker judged that the ball may have missed leg stump.
A drizzle had already begun, and intensified rapidly over the first three balls of the next over. Off went the players, and on came the covers. India would have to wait just a little longer.
It had been more than a year since India last won a Test match, at Lord's in 2014, but the final lap of their long wait zipped past quicker than anyone would have expected. Seven balls after lunch on the fifth day, Dushmantha Chameera padded up to an Amit Mishra googly. Mishra spun around in appeal; Rod Tucker's finger went up immediately.
With that, the series was level. Sri Lanka had lost their last eight wickets for 62 runs. Worryingly, for a side that is losing perhaps its greatest-ever batsman to retirement, the collapse only continued a trend: they had lost their last seven wickets for 65 runs in the first innings.
If there were any furrows on Virat Kohli's brow while he chased his first win as India's Test captain, they weren't caused by a Sri Lankan batsman. If they appeared at all, they did so only when rain fell with the last pair at the crease to bring the covers onto the field and hasten the lunch break by 10 minutes.
For the second time in the match, India's attack refused to release the pressure on the batsmen. R Ashwin, who had taken the first two Sri Lankan wickets on the fourth evening, picked up his 12th five-for in Test cricket, but the other three specialist bowlers contributed significantly as well.
Angelo Mathews, first-innings centurion and 23 overnight, loomed as the biggest obstacle in India's path to victory, but they saw his back at the earliest possible moment. Umesh Yadav had troubled him right through the first innings, opening him up constantly with his away movement from a good length. But while he had survived those deliveries by playing inside the line, his hands followed the ball this time, and KL Rahul dived to his right to pouch him behind the stumps.
Amit Mishra was the next bowler to get on the scorecard. Dinesh Chandimal had made 15 in his usual manner, which spans the spectrum from busy to edgy, before the legspinner's drift undid him. Shaping to sweep, he ended up playing down the wrong line as the ball swerved down the leg side and turned sharply to hit leg and middle stumps.
Lahiru Thirimanne had looked entirely at sea against Ashwin. In the 12th over of the morning, he beat him twice with his offbreak - once when the batsman was on the back foot, with a slow, loopy delivery; once on the front foot with a quicker, flatter ball that turned just as much - and nearly had him lbw when he played back to his arm ball. He wouldn't be denied for too much longer. In his next over, Thirimanne stepped out to Ashwin, didn't get to the pitch of the ball, closed his face too early, and popped a catch to silly point.
Ishant Sharma was the next Indian bowler on the scorecard. He had jagged one back four overs ago to hit Dimuth Karunaratne's pad - height saved the batsman - and that may have prompted Jehan Mubarak to poke nervously at a ball angling away from him. Virat Kohli, standing a couple of steps closer than normal at second slip, took a good low catch.
Karunaratne had struggled against Ashwin all through the fourth evening, but having survived that spell was looking likely to carry his bat - particularly when Dhammika Prasad, the most capable of the tailenders, holed out slogging at Ashwin. That didn't materialise, however, as he went back to another of Ashwin's arm balls, misreading the length of it. It hurried through and bowled him off the pad.
The end looked near when Mishra had Tharindu Kaushal - who had been bruised on the glove by an Umesh bouncer in the previous over - lbw with a googly. It could have been all over next ball, when Dushmantha Chameera prodded forward uncertainly to another wrong 'un, but this time umpire Rod Tucker judged that the ball may have missed leg stump.
A drizzle had already begun, and intensified rapidly over the first three balls of the next over. Off went the players, and on came the covers. India would have to wait just a little longer.
Sunday 23 August 2015
2nd ODI SA V NZ
New Zealand 207 for 2 beat South Africa 204 by eight wickets
A career-best 3 for 31 from Doug Bracewell cancelled out a fighting 70 from Farhaan Behardien, and set New Zealand up for a dominant, series-leveling victory in the second ODI. On a slow surface, New Zealand's attack squeezed and then strangled South Africa with tight lines, pace off the ball and some reverse swing, none of which the home side could replicate.
New Zealand cantered to victory without many concerns. Martin Guptill and Tom Latham starred in the highest first-wicket partnership for New Zealand against South Africa, beating the previous record of 114 set by Latham's father Rod and Mark Greatbach at the 1992 World Cup. Guptill went on to score his ninth ODI century and his first against South Africa, with the runs scored authoritatively and all around the ground.
South Africa's first error came at the toss when AB de Villiers decided to bat first despite chasing being the preferred option in Potchefstroom. Their next mistake was the over-eagerness of the openers, who both fell playing aggressive shots and exposed the middle order earlier than they would have liked. New Zealand could see straight through South Africa and plucked most of their middle order in the period between overs 16 and 33 before clipping the tail in the last five overs.
South Africa's twin collapses - 4 for 66 in the middle period and 4 for 16 at the end - were held together by Behardien, but even he could not get really get going on a pitch New Zealand understood better.
Pace seemed puerile, but Adam Milne enjoyed the early success. He steamed in and offered width to Hashim Amla, who threw his bat at it, forgot to move his feet and was caught at third man. Milne could have had Rilee Rossouw out two balls later when a low full toss was driven straight back to him but he could not hold on. He did not have to wait too long to make another incision, though.
Morne van Wyk tried to cut the last ball of Milne's second over and chopped the ball onto his offstump. As if losing both openers inside four overs did not put enough pressure on South Africa, that was immediately followed by the only maiden over of the innings, delivered by Ben Wheeler.
South Africa's two cleanest hitters were at the crease but neither de Villiers nor Rilee Rossouw could really get going. Rossouw looked comfortable and timed the ball better than any of this team-mates but Doug Bracewell and Ish Sodhi were difficult to get away and ultimately, that frustrated him. After a six-over stretch in which only 21 runs were scored, Rossouw tried to clear mid-off off a full delivery from Bracewell, but found only Kane Williamson.
David Miller had an opportunity to end his lean run, which has now now reached ten innings without an ODI half-century, but never looked comfortable. He was surprised by a Bracewell delivery that reared up a touch, closed the face of the bat too early and got a leading edge to short cover. De Villiers was also done in by some extra bounce, from Grant Elliot, and was caught at mid-wicket, as South Africa's trouble deepened.
By then, Behardien had made some measure of conditions and realised he would need to bat responsibly. He searched for singles, even though he seldom found them, and managed not to get frustrated. Almost. After 11 boundary-less overs, he pushed a delivery back at Milne and could have been caught in the follow through but with power behind his push, Milne had to react quickly and could not hold on.
The exasperation still hung over South Africa. David Wiese only lasted five more deliveries before he was given out lbw off Sodhi. Replays showed the ball had pitched marginally outside leg stump.
With only the bowlers to come, Behardien tried to up the ante. He struck the innings' only six with a pull over mid-wicket off Sodhi to bring up his half-century off 62 balls, but was soon forced to quieten down again with the introduction of Colin Munro followed by Wheeler and Elliot.
Another lean six-over period followed with just 16 runs scored, and with the innings into the final five overs, Behardien felt he had to do something. However, he holed out to Bracewell, trying to drove down the ground, to leave the seamers to bat out the remaining overs. A trio of run-outs saw South Africa finish three balls short and well short of a competitive total.
De Villiers tried to be innovative in his defence and opened the bowling with a spinner, Aaron Phangiso, but Guptill made a mockery of that plan. He took four boundaries off Phangiso's opening two overs and gave one chance - a return catch which Phangiso could not hold on to.
Dale Steyn replaced Phangiso and searched for swing without much success. Then Wiese took offer but bowled a poor line and strayed onto the pads. Steyn tried again from the other end but went too wide. All the while, Guptill and Latham took advantage, steering the ball behind square, and driving and cutting with confidence to bring up New Zealand's fifty inside nine overs.
Imran Tahir managed to slow them down and could have had Guptill out twice - once when he was on 37 and offered a return catch and a second time when he was on 39 and put down at long-off - but New Zealand made steady progress. Latham's fifty came first, off 57 balls, and Guptill's soon followed, off 86 balls.
New Zealand lost their first wicket when Latham top-edged Tahir to Rossouw at deep square leg but by then, the game was already won. Guptill batted through to the end, when his race to reach his hundred was against the total and not the bowlers. Guptill was on 97 when New Zealand needed four to win and on 99 when New Zealand needed just one. He sent a loopy full toss to the extra-cover boundary to seal his century as well as the win, setting up for a finale on Wednesday, which New Zealand will be more confident going into than South Africa.
Jimmy Neesham, who did not play this match, earlier in the week warned that New Zealand had become expert comeback kings once they have had a chance to assess conditions. New Zealand lost the first ODIs in both England and Zimbabwe before winning the next two matches and in the case of Zimbabwe, the series. South Africa will be aware that the same could happen in Durban.
A career-best 3 for 31 from Doug Bracewell cancelled out a fighting 70 from Farhaan Behardien, and set New Zealand up for a dominant, series-leveling victory in the second ODI. On a slow surface, New Zealand's attack squeezed and then strangled South Africa with tight lines, pace off the ball and some reverse swing, none of which the home side could replicate.
New Zealand cantered to victory without many concerns. Martin Guptill and Tom Latham starred in the highest first-wicket partnership for New Zealand against South Africa, beating the previous record of 114 set by Latham's father Rod and Mark Greatbach at the 1992 World Cup. Guptill went on to score his ninth ODI century and his first against South Africa, with the runs scored authoritatively and all around the ground.
South Africa's first error came at the toss when AB de Villiers decided to bat first despite chasing being the preferred option in Potchefstroom. Their next mistake was the over-eagerness of the openers, who both fell playing aggressive shots and exposed the middle order earlier than they would have liked. New Zealand could see straight through South Africa and plucked most of their middle order in the period between overs 16 and 33 before clipping the tail in the last five overs.
South Africa's twin collapses - 4 for 66 in the middle period and 4 for 16 at the end - were held together by Behardien, but even he could not get really get going on a pitch New Zealand understood better.
Pace seemed puerile, but Adam Milne enjoyed the early success. He steamed in and offered width to Hashim Amla, who threw his bat at it, forgot to move his feet and was caught at third man. Milne could have had Rilee Rossouw out two balls later when a low full toss was driven straight back to him but he could not hold on. He did not have to wait too long to make another incision, though.
Morne van Wyk tried to cut the last ball of Milne's second over and chopped the ball onto his offstump. As if losing both openers inside four overs did not put enough pressure on South Africa, that was immediately followed by the only maiden over of the innings, delivered by Ben Wheeler.
South Africa's two cleanest hitters were at the crease but neither de Villiers nor Rilee Rossouw could really get going. Rossouw looked comfortable and timed the ball better than any of this team-mates but Doug Bracewell and Ish Sodhi were difficult to get away and ultimately, that frustrated him. After a six-over stretch in which only 21 runs were scored, Rossouw tried to clear mid-off off a full delivery from Bracewell, but found only Kane Williamson.
David Miller had an opportunity to end his lean run, which has now now reached ten innings without an ODI half-century, but never looked comfortable. He was surprised by a Bracewell delivery that reared up a touch, closed the face of the bat too early and got a leading edge to short cover. De Villiers was also done in by some extra bounce, from Grant Elliot, and was caught at mid-wicket, as South Africa's trouble deepened.
By then, Behardien had made some measure of conditions and realised he would need to bat responsibly. He searched for singles, even though he seldom found them, and managed not to get frustrated. Almost. After 11 boundary-less overs, he pushed a delivery back at Milne and could have been caught in the follow through but with power behind his push, Milne had to react quickly and could not hold on.
The exasperation still hung over South Africa. David Wiese only lasted five more deliveries before he was given out lbw off Sodhi. Replays showed the ball had pitched marginally outside leg stump.
With only the bowlers to come, Behardien tried to up the ante. He struck the innings' only six with a pull over mid-wicket off Sodhi to bring up his half-century off 62 balls, but was soon forced to quieten down again with the introduction of Colin Munro followed by Wheeler and Elliot.
Another lean six-over period followed with just 16 runs scored, and with the innings into the final five overs, Behardien felt he had to do something. However, he holed out to Bracewell, trying to drove down the ground, to leave the seamers to bat out the remaining overs. A trio of run-outs saw South Africa finish three balls short and well short of a competitive total.
De Villiers tried to be innovative in his defence and opened the bowling with a spinner, Aaron Phangiso, but Guptill made a mockery of that plan. He took four boundaries off Phangiso's opening two overs and gave one chance - a return catch which Phangiso could not hold on to.
Dale Steyn replaced Phangiso and searched for swing without much success. Then Wiese took offer but bowled a poor line and strayed onto the pads. Steyn tried again from the other end but went too wide. All the while, Guptill and Latham took advantage, steering the ball behind square, and driving and cutting with confidence to bring up New Zealand's fifty inside nine overs.
Imran Tahir managed to slow them down and could have had Guptill out twice - once when he was on 37 and offered a return catch and a second time when he was on 39 and put down at long-off - but New Zealand made steady progress. Latham's fifty came first, off 57 balls, and Guptill's soon followed, off 86 balls.
New Zealand lost their first wicket when Latham top-edged Tahir to Rossouw at deep square leg but by then, the game was already won. Guptill batted through to the end, when his race to reach his hundred was against the total and not the bowlers. Guptill was on 97 when New Zealand needed four to win and on 99 when New Zealand needed just one. He sent a loopy full toss to the extra-cover boundary to seal his century as well as the win, setting up for a finale on Wednesday, which New Zealand will be more confident going into than South Africa.
Jimmy Neesham, who did not play this match, earlier in the week warned that New Zealand had become expert comeback kings once they have had a chance to assess conditions. New Zealand lost the first ODIs in both England and Zimbabwe before winning the next two matches and in the case of Zimbabwe, the series. South Africa will be aware that the same could happen in Durban.
5th Ashes Test Day 4 AUS 481, ENG 149, 286 (Aus win)
End of test report: Australia have won final Ashes Test of the series by an innings and 46 runs at The Oval, leaving the scoreline at 3-2 in England's favour.
The Three Lions began the day at 203-7, needing over 100 runs to force Michael Clarke's men to bat again in the match.
Mark Wood was the first Engand batsman to depart when he was lbw to Peter Siddle for six, while Jos Buttler's resistance was ended for 42 as clipped a delivery from Mitchell Marsh into the hands of Mitchell Starc.
A rain delay halted Australia's charge at The Oval as play was brought to a halt for two hours. However, after the break Siddle returned to snag the wicket of Stuart Broad for 11.
Moeen Ali added quick runs at the bottom to give Alastair Cook's side hope of forcing Australia to bat again, but Siddle claimed the winning wicket when Ali edged behind to Peter Nevill for 35, giving the tourists a resounding victory.
Lunch report: Rain has stopped play in the fourth day of the fifth Ashes test, with England's batsmen battling to stay in the match despite losing two early wickets.
The Three Lions began the day at 203-7, needing over 100 runs to force Michael Clarke's men to bat again in the match.
Mark Wood was the first Engand batsman to depart when he was lbw to Peter Siddle for six, while Jos Buttler's resistance was ended for 42 as clipped a delivery from Mitchell Marsh into the hands of Mitchell Starc.
A rain delay halted Australia's charge at The Oval as play was brought to a halt for two hours. However, after the break Siddle returned to snag the wicket of Stuart Broad for 11.
Moeen Ali added quick runs at the bottom to give Alastair Cook's side hope of forcing Australia to bat again, but Siddle claimed the winning wicket when Ali edged behind to Peter Nevill for 35, giving the tourists a resounding victory.
Lunch report: Rain has stopped play in the fourth day of the fifth Ashes test, with England's batsmen battling to stay in the match despite losing two early wickets.
Australia began the morning session needing to take four wickets in order to claim victory, but Jos Buttler and nightwatchman Mark Wood displayed some early resistance, playing some good defensive shots to prevent a quick collapse.
Eventually Australia did make their breakthrough, as Peter Siddle dismissed Wood by LBW for six runs, although the initial appeal by the bowling side was turned down by the umpire. Michael Clarke did not hesitate to appeal, and the decision was overturned by review.
It did not take long for England's next wicket to fall, as Jos Buttler was bowled by Mitchell Marsh and caught byMitchell Starc for 42 runs.
Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad made a solid start to their innings, with Ali reaching the boundary three times before the match was halted by the weather.
2nd Test Day 4 SL V IND
Sri Lanka 306 and 72 for 2 need another 341 runs to beat India 393 and 325 for 8 dec.
There was no fairytale finish to Kumar Sangakkara's Test career as R Ashwin dismissed him for the fourth time in four innings, on his way to picking up two wickets that gave India a big push towards a series-leveling victory at the P Sara Oval. Set 413 to win in three-and-a-half sessions, after a declaration march led by an Ajinkya Rahane century, Sri Lanka were 72 for 2 at stumps on day four.
Sangakkara struck two trademark boundaries off Ishant Sharma - a whip off his hips and a checked drive down the ground - but didn't have too much of an answer to another of those perfectly-pitched Ashwin offbreaks. It dropped onto a perfect length, on an off-stump line. Right through the series, Sangakkara has been unsure of whether to go forward or back to this ball. He went forward this time, didn't get close enough to the pitch of the ball, and it turned, kissed his outside edge, and nestled in second slip's hands.
Ashwin's first wicket had less to do with his skill as an offspinner - Kaushal Silva popped a full-toss to short midwicket - but his bowling constantly asked questions of Sri Lanka's top order. Dimuth Karunaratne, in particular, struggled. He misread his flight on multiple occasions, and found himself playing a long way in front of his body when the ball dipped on him, sending a leading edge popping dangerously towards mid-off on one occasion. He also had an lbw appeal turned down - with the ball looking likely to miss leg stump - when he went back to try and cut an arm ball that skidded through and cramped him.
He hung in, though, and found his groove, to the extent of striking three fours off him in the 19th over of Sri Lanka's innings - two drives down the ground, having used his feet to get to the ball, either side of a powerful square sweep. With Angelo Mathews moving to a typically unobtrusive 23 at the other end, Sri Lanka ended the day with a small measure of hope.
But their hopes of chasing a less-than-daunting target had disappeared much earlier, over the course of two important partnerships involving Rahane. First, he briskly extended his second-wicket partnership with M Vijay to 140, the 73 runs they scored in the morning coming off 93 balls. Then, after Tharindu Kaushal had removed Vijay and Virat Kohli in the space of 48 balls, he added 85 with Rohit Sharma for the fourth wicket.
Vijay and Rahane had batted with a degree of understandable caution on the third evening, making sure India didn't fritter away the initiative of an 87-run first-innings lead. Having swelled the cushion to 157 for the loss of only one wicket, there was a perceptible change of gear.
India's batsmen had defended or left 86 - or close to 49% - of the 176 balls they had faced on the third evening. On the fourth morning, the figure was 45 off 160 - just over 28%. The in-out fields allowed for a steady flow of singles, but they didn't really help Sri Lanka stem the boundaries.
Rahane went deep in his crease in the third over of the morning to shorten the length of a Rangana Herath delivery and whip him square of midwicket for four, and stepped down the track six overs later to lift him over extra cover. Not long after, Vijay picked up two sixes in two overs, with a pull off Dushmantha Chameera and a lofted hit over midwicket off Kaushal.
As the morning wore on, Vijay began limping through his singles - possibly due to a return of the hamstring troubles that had kept him out of the first Test. Having reached 82, he shaped to sweep Kaushal from the stumps and missed. The amount of turn Kaushal generates minimises the likelihood of lbw, even from round the wicket, but on this occasion he spun his offbreak just enough to beat the bat and stay on course to hit leg stump. He managed another lbw eight overs later, trapping Kohli as he went deep in his crease to work him across the line.
The wickets prompted India to retreat into their shells a little, understandably enough. While India's morning run rate was close to five an over before Vijay's wicket, it dropped to just over three an over thereafter, till lunch. Then, without too much apparent effort, Rahane and Rohit scored more than four runs an over after lunch.
There were plenty of singles available down the ground, and to that Rahane added the occasional touch of craftiness, taking successive doubles off Herath with a drive wide of short extra cover followed by another chipped over his head. The runs flowed freer once Rahane had reached his hundred, with the batsmen hitting four fours in four overs from Herath and Tharindu Kaushal before Rohit was out trying to slog-sweep a doosra from outside off stump.
Kaushal took the wicket of Rahane in his next over as the batsman nicked a drive, misjudging the extent of turn from round the wicket. By then, India's lead was 349.
They declared an hour into the final session, having lost three wickets in nine post-tea overs for the addition of 42 runs. Wriddhiman Saha, who had retired hurt with a hamstring strain in the second session, came back out at the fall of India's seventh wicket, and was at the crease when Kohli signaled the declaration, but it was KL Rahul who kept wicket at the start of Sri Lanka's chase.
There was no fairytale finish to Kumar Sangakkara's Test career as R Ashwin dismissed him for the fourth time in four innings, on his way to picking up two wickets that gave India a big push towards a series-leveling victory at the P Sara Oval. Set 413 to win in three-and-a-half sessions, after a declaration march led by an Ajinkya Rahane century, Sri Lanka were 72 for 2 at stumps on day four.
Sangakkara struck two trademark boundaries off Ishant Sharma - a whip off his hips and a checked drive down the ground - but didn't have too much of an answer to another of those perfectly-pitched Ashwin offbreaks. It dropped onto a perfect length, on an off-stump line. Right through the series, Sangakkara has been unsure of whether to go forward or back to this ball. He went forward this time, didn't get close enough to the pitch of the ball, and it turned, kissed his outside edge, and nestled in second slip's hands.
Ashwin's first wicket had less to do with his skill as an offspinner - Kaushal Silva popped a full-toss to short midwicket - but his bowling constantly asked questions of Sri Lanka's top order. Dimuth Karunaratne, in particular, struggled. He misread his flight on multiple occasions, and found himself playing a long way in front of his body when the ball dipped on him, sending a leading edge popping dangerously towards mid-off on one occasion. He also had an lbw appeal turned down - with the ball looking likely to miss leg stump - when he went back to try and cut an arm ball that skidded through and cramped him.
He hung in, though, and found his groove, to the extent of striking three fours off him in the 19th over of Sri Lanka's innings - two drives down the ground, having used his feet to get to the ball, either side of a powerful square sweep. With Angelo Mathews moving to a typically unobtrusive 23 at the other end, Sri Lanka ended the day with a small measure of hope.
But their hopes of chasing a less-than-daunting target had disappeared much earlier, over the course of two important partnerships involving Rahane. First, he briskly extended his second-wicket partnership with M Vijay to 140, the 73 runs they scored in the morning coming off 93 balls. Then, after Tharindu Kaushal had removed Vijay and Virat Kohli in the space of 48 balls, he added 85 with Rohit Sharma for the fourth wicket.
Vijay and Rahane had batted with a degree of understandable caution on the third evening, making sure India didn't fritter away the initiative of an 87-run first-innings lead. Having swelled the cushion to 157 for the loss of only one wicket, there was a perceptible change of gear.
India's batsmen had defended or left 86 - or close to 49% - of the 176 balls they had faced on the third evening. On the fourth morning, the figure was 45 off 160 - just over 28%. The in-out fields allowed for a steady flow of singles, but they didn't really help Sri Lanka stem the boundaries.
Rahane went deep in his crease in the third over of the morning to shorten the length of a Rangana Herath delivery and whip him square of midwicket for four, and stepped down the track six overs later to lift him over extra cover. Not long after, Vijay picked up two sixes in two overs, with a pull off Dushmantha Chameera and a lofted hit over midwicket off Kaushal.
As the morning wore on, Vijay began limping through his singles - possibly due to a return of the hamstring troubles that had kept him out of the first Test. Having reached 82, he shaped to sweep Kaushal from the stumps and missed. The amount of turn Kaushal generates minimises the likelihood of lbw, even from round the wicket, but on this occasion he spun his offbreak just enough to beat the bat and stay on course to hit leg stump. He managed another lbw eight overs later, trapping Kohli as he went deep in his crease to work him across the line.
The wickets prompted India to retreat into their shells a little, understandably enough. While India's morning run rate was close to five an over before Vijay's wicket, it dropped to just over three an over thereafter, till lunch. Then, without too much apparent effort, Rahane and Rohit scored more than four runs an over after lunch.
There were plenty of singles available down the ground, and to that Rahane added the occasional touch of craftiness, taking successive doubles off Herath with a drive wide of short extra cover followed by another chipped over his head. The runs flowed freer once Rahane had reached his hundred, with the batsmen hitting four fours in four overs from Herath and Tharindu Kaushal before Rohit was out trying to slog-sweep a doosra from outside off stump.
Kaushal took the wicket of Rahane in his next over as the batsman nicked a drive, misjudging the extent of turn from round the wicket. By then, India's lead was 349.
They declared an hour into the final session, having lost three wickets in nine post-tea overs for the addition of 42 runs. Wriddhiman Saha, who had retired hurt with a hamstring strain in the second session, came back out at the fall of India's seventh wicket, and was at the crease when Kohli signaled the declaration, but it was KL Rahul who kept wicket at the start of Sri Lanka's chase.
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